All 21 people aboard a military aircraft that crashed into the Pacific Ocean off the remote Juan Fernandez islands perished, Chile's government said on Saturday, as rescuers and fishermen searched for bodies.
Search and rescue teams have recovered four bodies so far from Friday''s crash, one of Chile's worst air disasters in recent years.
"One arrives at the conclusion that the impact was so strong that it must have killed those aboard instantly," Defence inister Andres Allamand said.
The CASA 212 military plane tried twice to land on Friday before it disappeared as heavy winds and sporadic rains hit the area.
Among the passengers were five TVN national television staff members, including well-known presenter Felipe Camiroaga. The TV crew was planning to film a report about reconstruction on the islands after last year''s devastating earthquake and tsunami.
