SANTIAGO - A FACh CASA C-212 airplane carrying popular Chilean TV Host Felipe Camiroaga, 44, along with TVN (Chile’s national television network) crew disappeared in Chile’s Juan Fernández Island today after losing contact with ground crew around 5:48 p.m. The team was headed to the island with Chilean businessman Felipe Cubillos, Executive Director of Desafio Levantemos Chile (Twitter @felipenavegante) and his staff to report on a story on the progress of the reconstruction of the island after the February 2010 8.8 earthquake.
Felipe Camiroaga, TVN Presenter, confirmed on the Juan Fernández flight. Photo credit: Gardner Hamilton
The CASA military plane tried twice to land at the airport on the remote island but strong gusts of wind buffeted the plane and it later was lost from sight, said Felipe Paredes, a local council member who was in the airport’s control tower at the time.
The CASA air force plane took off from the capital, Santiago, at 2 p.m. local time (1700 GMT), and lost contact with air control almost four hours later, according to a statement from aviation authorities.
According to Julio Subercaseaux, president of Chile’s federal aviation authority ”It’s a difficult runway, but not impossible.”
Confirmed on the flight were TVN presenter Felipe Camiroaga, host of ‘Buenos Dias Todos’ (Good Morning Everyone) and his fellow TVN staff members - Roberto Bruce, a popular Chilean journalist, Sylvia Slier, Carolina Gatica and Rodrigo Cabezón.
Also on board were key staff of del Desafío Levantemos Chile, which is a Chilean program that was established to help Chile rise after the earthquake and assist earthquake victims. Staff members on board included businessman Felipe Cubillos, Sebastian Correa, Joel Lizama, Catalina Vela Montero, Jorge Palma y Joaquín Arnold.
Two members of the Chilean Ministry of Culture include Galia Díaz y Romina Irarrázabal.
FACh (Chilean Air Force): Journalists José Cifuentes and Rodrigo Fernández.
Crew: Lt. Carolina Fernandez (pilot), Corporal Flavio Olivo, Juan Pablo Mallea Lieutenant, Sergeant Jones, Corporal Eduardo Estrada, Erwin Cape Nunez.
Marcelo Rossi, president of the fishers union in Juan Fernández told the press, “We have no expectations of waiting for someone alive. The port of the island is closed to small boats for harsh weather conditions. The crash was due to strong wind in the area. ”
Navy authorities confirmed the crash and reported that debris, a cooler and torn clothing had been found floating in the ocean
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