The Chilean air force has said one of its cargo planes that went missing for more than 12 hours with 38 people onboard has crashed and a rescue team is searching for survivors.

The C-130 Hercules took off at 4.55pm (1955 GMT) on Monday from Punta Arenas in the south and was heading to a base in Antarctica, but operators lost contact with the plane just over an hour later.

The air force said it had yet to locate the plane or determine whether there were any survivors, but had concluded the Hercules must have crashed given how long it had been missing.

The plane had been carrying 17 crew and 21 passengers, the air force said, adding that a rescue team was scouring the area “where it lost communication with the plane, with the goal of rescuing possible survivors”.

The region in which the aircraft disappeared is a vast ocean wilderness of ice sheets off the edge of South America.

The plane had been travelling to perform logistical support tasks for the maintenance of Chilean facilities in the Antarctic, the air force said.