The Chilean Air Force said on Wednesday it had found debris believed to be from a cargo plane that crashed this week with 38 people aboard over a remote stretch of frigid sea between South America and Antarctica.

The debris was found almost 19 miles south of where the plane last made contact, the air force said in a statement. The parts were being recovered for analysis to determine if they belonged to the Hercules C-130 cargo plane.

The aircraft disappeared shortly after taking off late on Monday from the southern Chilean city of Punta Arenas. The air force concluded that the aircraft must have crashed early the next morning, given the number of hours it had been missing.

Image A photograph provided by the Chilean Air Force shows a piece of foam found floating near the area where the plane disappeared. Credit... Chilean Air Force

“We will continue the search and hope for a better result,” Gen. Eduardo Mosqueira, the leader of. the search effort, told reporters.