A medical aircraft carrying six individuals crashed on Wednesday evening near the Chilean capital while en route to transport a patient to the country’s northern border, authorities reported.
Contact was lost with the aircraft near El Roble Hill in Curacaví, located 40 kilometers west of the capital Santiago, according to a statement from the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) in Chile, released at 9:37 PM local time (01:37 GMT).
“The civil medical plane Piper Cheyenne II, registered as CC-CCC, which had taken off from Santiago heading to Arica, crashed with six people on board,” the DGAC stated on platform X.
A comprehensive search operation has been initiated in the area where contact was lost, involving teams from the air force, police, and firefighters.
“This region is at a very high altitude and is extremely difficult to access,” stated Christian Hernandez, the mayor of Curacaví, during a television interview. He also mentioned that the access road has been “damaged” due to heavy rains affecting the Chilean capital on Wednesday.
