At about 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, residents of Curacaví lived moments of tension when they heard a strong rumble that shook the calm of the sector. Many attributed it to a thunder caused by the rain, but after knowing the disappearance of a private plane that flew from Santiago to Arica, the sound began to take another meaning. The aircraft, which transported six people, including José Luis Torres Espinoza (79) Arica and patient entrepreneur returned to his city after a Medical treatment for a stroke (Stroke), lost contact in the vicinity of Cerro El Robleabout 10,000 feet high, and its whereabouts are still a mystery while emergency equipment intensifies search work.
Torres is recognized in the Norteic city as a historic militant of the Christian democracy. during the dictatorship he assumed a relevant role in his party and later occupied public office during the governments of the Concertación, becoming a regional president of the DC in Arica.
However, his career has been mainly oriented to the private sector, where he founded and became holder of the Chile Norte School of Arica, an institution in which his daughter also works as an official. Torres also served as director of the Northern Development Corporation.
In the commune he was known for his current comments on the channel Arica TV reportswhere he shared space with journalists – at least – since 2023.
The plane, of registration CC-CCC, took off from Arturo Merino Benítez Airportin Santiago, around 7:00 p.m. A few minutes after the flight started, the aircraft lost its trace. The General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics (DGAC) confirmed that the last signal came from a mountainous area near the El Roble hill, in Curacaví, where the aircraft apparently suffered an accident at an altitude of about 10 thousand feet.
Among the people on board was the crew composed of the Christian Pilots Muñoz and Luis Meneses; he Doctor Dinko Nori and nurse Dayana Niñowho attended Torres who was traveling accompanied by his son -in -law, Alaman Rivera.
According to the mayor of Arica, Orlando’s miseryTorres was a “great Ariqueño friend, a tireless worker, an entrepreneur with love for his city.” Vargas explained that the patient had been hospitalized between 20 and 25 days and that his return to Arica had been to continue his treatment in an outpatient manner.
The news of his disappearance has generated a great impact on the Ariqueña community, especially because man was well known and dear. “His son was in Mexico, he arrived today, his daughter, a professional from Arica too, was in contact with us. The sadness that seizes us is indescribable,” said the mayor of Arica.
The first hypotheses
As for the causes of the accident, precise details are unknown. However, according to the latest reports of the Metropolitan Presidential Delegation, it was mentioned that, in the last communications issued by the aircraft pilot, he would have informed about the presence of “ice formations” in the plane’s propellers, which could have hindered the flight and caused the loss of control.
He Mayor of Curacaví, Christian HernándezHe indicated that the area in which contact with the plane was lost is difficult to access. According to Hernández, the last signal of the aircraft was registered in a steep area. Some locals suggested that access to the place could be easier from the town of Towhich is located north of the affected area.
The mayor of Curacaví also reported that during the night he felt a rumble throughout the area, which many of the town inhabitants attributed to the rain or thunder. However, a neighbor from the upper zone of the hill said that the rumble came directly from that area, which generated the suspicion that an impact could have occurred in that same area.
The search has been arduous. Although a reference point was located by a GPS, it is at a considerable distance from the area that has been accessible to rescue equipment. Throughout the night, drones were deployed with night visibility to track the area. In addition, emergency teams from various institutions are deployed in Key points in the provinces of Chacabuco and Melipilla, in an attempt to locate the aircraft.
The search has not been easy. According to him National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (Senapred) a The thirdthe topography of the place and the weather conditions have hindered access and communications. Therefore, during the morning of Thursday the activation of emergency roaming was requested in the Commune of Curacaví, to maintain communications and reinforce search actions.
To the above is added the contingent deployment of the FACH, Chilean Army, Carabineros and Firefighters In the search, coordinated in a command post located in the sector.
Despite the magnitude of the event, both Mayor Vargas and Curacaví expressed his hope that the plane will be found soon. “Today there is hope, with all this technical search and with so much will of so many people. I hope we can find it shortly,” Vargas said.
