After a grueling journey up into the rarefied air of the Andes mountains, an expedition team announced on Sunday (February 8) it has discovered the fuselage of a passenger plane that went missing over a half century ago.
The LAN Chile Douglas DC-3 twin-propeller aircraft was reported missing on April 3, 1961, near the city of Linares, some 300 kilometers (186 miles) south of the Chilean capital of Santiago.
The airline, now part of Latam Airlines Group LAN.SN, the region’s largest carrier, was state-owned at the time of the accident.
Rescuers found the tail end of the aircraft and some human remains a week after the crash, an official who asked not to be named told Reuters, but the recovery effort was abandoned near the snow-capped peaks due to its dangerous and remote location.
The rediscovery of the plane is shedding new light on the tragedy, and rekindling the hopes of a long-awaited farewell for some of the passengers’ surviving family members.
“It was very overwhelming, it made me feel all sorts of things, mixed emotions,” said expedition leader, Leonardo Alvornoz, “You could feel the very potent energy of the place; you could breathe in the sadness.”
To get to the crash site at 3,000 meters (9,843 feet) above sea level, the nine-member mountaineering team traveled two days by horseback, traversing streams and ravines, and then spent another two days climbing deep into the mountains. It took another two days to get back down.
Members of the team made two unsuccessful attempts last year to locate the plane, and the third time was the charm. January to April is typically the best time of the year to climb in the Chilean Andes south of the capital.
The team found pieces of the plane, including a propeller, and lost shoes scattered about a rocky slope.
“We have only found parts of the plane’s structure which were half buried. There are sure to be many stories yet to uncover from under these rocks,” said Alvornoz.
Several family members want to make the journey to the site themselves to pay their final respects, the team told local media, whilst the site has also gained fame amongst tourists and mountaineers.
“We know that places like this are seen as trophies, attracting people to come and extract things as souvenirs. This most definitely makes the place very sought after,” Alvornoz said.
Eight players and the coach of the top-flight Green Cross soccer club as well as three referees were among the 24 passengers traveling aboard the plane.
(Reuters)
