Relatives of passengers of a missing military plane arrive in a Chilean military airplane to an airbase in Punta Arenas, Chile, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019. Searchers using planes, ships and satellites were combing the Drake Passage on Tuesday, hunting for the plane carrying 38 people that vanished en route to an Antartica base. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
The Associated Press
PUNTA ARENAS, Chile (AP) - The Chilean Air Force says it has recovered debris believed to be from a military transport plan carrying 38 people that vanished days earlier en route to Antarctica.
Air Force Gen. Eduardo Mosqueira says 'œsponge'ť material was found floating roughly 30 kilometers from the place the C-130 Hercules last had radio contact.
It had left southern Chile and was flying over Drake Pass, a notoriously turbulent area.
Mosqueira said Wednesday the debris will be analyzed to see if it corresponds to the missing plane. He says the process could take up to two days to confirm.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story follows below.
Chilean officials said Wednesday they have expanded the search for a military plane that vanished with 38 people aboard on a flight to Antarctica, and are now scanning an area of roughly 70,000 square miles.
Air Force Gen. Eduardo Mosqueira said the search area now covers an area of about 400 by 450 kilometers (250 by 280 miles) and he said improved visibility was helping the crews of searchers using planes, satellites and vessels from Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and the U.S. as well as Chile.
The C-130 Hercules took off Monday afternoon from a base in far-southern Chile on a regular maintenance flight for an Antarctic base. Radio contact was lost 70 minutes later.
The search area extends over treacherous waters of Drake's Passage between the tip of South America and Antarctica. The plane was carrying 17 crew members and 21 passengers, three of them civilians.
Ed Coleman, a pilot and chair of the Safety Science Department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona, said rapidly changing weather in the Antarctic makes it a difficult place for pilots.
Air masses converge there, driving storms with powerful wind gusts, while stirring the sea with swells 6 meters (20 feet) or bigger, he said. Flying becomes challenging, and making a smooth sea landing nearly impossible, he said.
'œYou can have a clear sky one minute, and in a short time later storms can be building up making it a challenge,'ť he said. 'œThat causes bigger swells and rougher air.'ť
The inhospitable Antarctic is equally formidable to rescuers, who have to respond quickly to pull any survivors from the cold, rough waters, he said.
A Chilean army rescue team prepares prior their departure to search for a missing C-130 Hercules transport plane, at the air base in Punta Arenas, Chile, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019. Searchers using planes, ships and satellites were combing the Drake Passage on Tuesday, hunting for the plane carrying 38 people that vanished en route to an Antartica base. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
The Associated Press
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. Searchers using planes, ships and satellites were combing the Drake Passage on Tuesday, hunting for the plane carrying 38 people that vanished en route to an Antartica base. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
The Associated Press
A Chilean Air Force helicopter returns from a search mission of a missing C-130 Hercules at the air base in Punta Arenas, Chile, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019. Searchers using planes, ships and satellites were combing the Drake Passage on Tuesday, hunting for the Chilean Air Force transport plane carrying 38 people that vanished en route to a base on the frozen continent. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
The Associated Press
Relatives of passengers of a missing military plane arrive at the Cerrillos airbase in Santiago, Chile, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019. Seven hours after contact was cut off, the Chilean Air Force declared the plane a loss, though there was no sign of what happened to it. The Air Force said two ships, more than a dozen planes and three satellites were being used in the search. (AP Photo/Luis Hidalgo)
The Associated Press
Relatives of passengers of a missing military plane arrive at an airbase in Punta Arenas, Chile, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019. Searchers using planes, ships and satellites were combing the Drake Passage on Tuesday, hunting for the plane carrying 38 people that vanished en route to an Antartica base. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
The Associated Press
Unites States air force crew arrive to help in the search for a missing C-130 Hercules transport plane, at the Chilean air force base in Punta Arenas, Chile, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019. Searchers using planes, ships and satellites were combing the Drake Passage on Tuesday, hunting for the plane carrying 38 people that vanished en route to an Antartica base. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
The Associated Press