Chilean Airforce plane with 38 on board vanishes while flying to Antarctica

Hercules was on its way to Antarctica when it went missing from the radar.

A Chilean military plane carrying 38 people has disappeared, the country's air force have confirmed.

The C-130 Hercules was en route to Antarctica when it vanished. The aircraft was transporting 17 crew members and 21 passengers.

"It took off at 4:55 pm and lost radio contact at 6:13 pm while heading from the Chabunco Air Base of the City of Punta Arenas to the Presidente Eduardo Antarctic Air Base Frei," a statement released by the military institution read.

The Chilean Air Force General Eduardo Mosqueira added: "Unfortunately we have no hypothesis of what could have happened.

"We lost contact with the plane and the protocol was activated. Hypothesis? Difficult. At this point the fuel ran out, starting at 00:41."

No emergency signals had been activated, it is said.

The air force said hours after that the weather was "good" at the time contact with the pilot was lost.

Authorities declared the plane as "damaged based on the flight autonomy of the aircraft".

Chilean President Sebastián Piñera tweeted that he was "dismayed" by the plane's disappearance.

He added that "all national and foreign air and maritime means in the area" were assisting with the search.