Seven people die when a small plane crashes in southern Chile

MadridSeven people died on Friday in southern Chile when the small plane they were travelling in crashed, local authorities reported, declaring three days of mourning for the accident.

The presidential delegate for the Aysén region, Rodrigo Araya Morales, confirmed in a press conference that there were no survivors. “The sad incident killed the pilot and six of his passengers,” he said.

After announcing the news, Araya expressed “his most sincere and heartfelt condolences to each and every one of the families of the passengers and the pilot of the crashed plane” and declared –“on behalf of the Government of Gabriel Boric and from the presidential delegation”– three days of regional mourning.

Information from the Aysén regional prosecutor’s office has revealed that “communication was lost with the Piper Navajo aircraft, which was operating subsidized flights between Coyhaique and Chile Chico, at approximately 09:36 hours (local time)” this morning, in the Cerro Castillo sector, in an area with “adverse” weather conditions.

The aircraft in question belonged to the company Transportes Aéreos San Rafael, which “with deep sorrow” has confirmed “the sensitive death of (its) pilot Joaquín Infante Crocco”, in charge of the vehicle that “took off this Friday, August 9 at 09:13 hours from Coyhaique bound for Chile Chico”, according to a statement collected by ‘Bio Bio Chile’.

The Attorney General’s Office has ordered “the Chilean Investigative Police (PDI), through the Homicide Brigade, the Criminalistics Laboratory and special personnel in search of persons (…) to work at the scene of the crime with the collaboration of other auxiliary agencies,” the agency itself added in a statement.

The PDI later reported the formation of a multidisciplinary team “to begin investigative work on the plane crash in Cerro Castillo,” where they had traveled hours earlier “on instructions from the Regional Prosecutor’s Office.”