Five officials from Televisión Nacional de Chile (TVN) died Friday, Sept. 2, in an accident involving a Chilean Air Force plane in the Juan Fernández archipelago, approximately 420 miles from Santiago, reported BBC Mundo. There were 21 passengers on board.
The host of the morning show "Buenos días a todos," Felipe Camiroaga; the reporter Roberto Bruce; the journalist Sylvia Slier; the assistant producer Carolina Gatica and the camerman Rodrigo Cabezón were all on their way to the archipelago to film a report on the reconstruction of the places most devastated by the Feb 27, 2010, earthquake and tsunami, BBC News reported.
As of Sept. 5, only four bodies had been found and identified, reported the newspaper El Mercurio. Minister of Defense Andrés Allamand noted that there were no survivors. The minister said that it would be difficult to find the remains of all the victims because the plane apparently disintegrated on impact, La Nación explained.
The accident shocked Chile, El Comercio wrote. The morning show "Good Morning to Everyone" opened on the morning of Sept. 5 with the journalist Julián Elfebein saying, "It's very difficult to say 'good morning.'"
El Mundo reported that Camiroaga was one of the most popular hosts in Chile. He worked for over 20 years for TVN. Fans of the TV personality started a vigil in front of TVN headquarters, waiting for more information about the accident.
The Journalists Union of Chile also mourned the deaths of the journalists.
