Chile's Defense Minister Alberto Espina (C) arrives at an air force base for the search and rescue operation of the Hercules C130 aircraft in Punta Arenas, Chile, Dec. 10, 2019. The Chilean Air Force reported Monday that it lost track of a plane with 38 people on board. The aircraft was en route from the southern city of Punta Arenas to Antarctica with 17 crew members and 21 passengers aborad, it said. (AGENCIAUNO/Handout via Xinhua)

SANTIAGO, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Chilean Air Force reported Monday that it lost track of a plane with 38 people on board.

The aircraft was en route from the southern city of Punta Arenas to Antarctica with 17 crew members and 21 passengers aborad, it said.

The Hercules C130 aircraft took off at 4:55 p.m. local time (1955 GMT) and lost radio contact at 6:13 p.m. local time (2113 GMT), the air force said in a press release.

The aircraft, belonging to the Aviation Group No. 10 of the Chilean Air Force, left from the Chabunco Air Base in the city of Punta Arenas, to the President Eduardo Frei Montalva Air Base in the Antarctica.

Its mission was to carry out logistical support tasks, transferring personnel for the maintenance of the fuel supply pipeline of the base, in addition to conducting anticorrosive treatment of the national facilities in the area, said the press release.

A state of alert was declared for loss of contact with the plane and the search and rescue operation was underway.