In Chile a military plane carrying 38 people disappeared yesterday evening. There were 17 crew members and 21 passengers on board the C-130 flight, which disappeared after taking off for Antarctica.

The air force said in a statement issued today that nothing has  been heard from the flight in more than seven hours. They were not optimistic about the aircraft’s fate as briefed by the authorities in Santiago.

The statement said, the Air Force continues the search in the sector where communication with the aircraft was lost, in order to rescue potential survivors.

The plane took off at 4:53 p.m. from the southern city of Punta Arenas, which is more than 3,000 kilometers from the capital of Santiago. Contact was lost at 6:13 pm.

President Sebastián Piñera was monitoring the developments with his defence and interior ministers at the air force headquarters.

Drake’s Passage, where the plane was missing, is infamous for severe weather conditions, including freezing temperatures and ferocious storms. But the air force said that the weather was good when the plane took off, or the mission would not have been carried out.