Relatives of passengers of a missing military plane arrive by a military airplane to an airbase in Punta Arenas, Chile, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Authorities have recovered debris and human remains from a military transport plane that disappeared while headed to Antarctica
Air Force Gen. Arturo Merino said based on the remains, it was "practically impossible" that anyone survived, the Associated Press reported.
The C-130 Hercules plane was carrying 38 people when it left southern Chile for an Antarctic base on Monday.
Officials lost radio contact about an hour after it took off. No emergency signals was made.
Debris was first seen on Wednesday about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the last point of contact.
So far, searchers have recovered a landing wheel, material from the fuel tank and part of the plane's wall. They have also found a backpack and shoe.
The first human remains will arrive ashore on Friday, authorities said.
Authorities will use DNA testing to identify the victims.
A Chilean air force F-16 fighter jet is directed on the tarmac as it arrives from searching for a missing C-130 Hercules transport plane, at the air base in Punta Arenas, Chile, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
“Remains of human beings that are most likely the passengers have been found among several pieces of the plane,” Merino said. “I feel immense pain for this loss of lives.”
It's possible some remains may never be recovered, Ed Coleman, chair of the Safety Science Department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Arizona.
“A lot of times that happens in a deep-water recovery. It’s just not possible," Coleman told the AP.
Among the passengers were three civilians: a civil engineering college student, an employee working on aerial photographs, and an electrician.
Most of the wreckage is at the bottom of the ocean, more than 2 miles underwater, and recovery could be difficult, officials said.
Airplanes and ships from Argentina, Brazil, United States, United Kingdom and Uruguay assisted Chile in rescue efforts.
Story with information from the Associated Press.