'Impossible that anyone could have survived': No survivors from Chile plane crash

The head of Chile's Air Force has declared there are no survivors from a military plane that crashed en route to Antarctica with 38 people on board.

Relatives of passengers of a missing military plane comfort each other as they arrive at the Cerrillos airbase in Santiago, Chile. Source: AAP

Human remains have been recovered in the search for an Antarctica-bound military transport plane that crashed earlier this week with 38 people on board.

Chilean Air Force head Arturo Merino says there were no survivors.

The aircraft, which was heading to a base in Antarctica, disappeared shortly after taking off from the southern city of Punta Arenas in Chilean Patagonia late on Monday.

It carried 21 passengers and 17 crew members.

Relatives of passengers of a missing military plane arrive by bus to the Cerrillos airbase in Santiago, Chile. Source: AAP

"The condition of the remains we discovered make it practically impossible that anyone could have survived the airplane accident," Merino told reporters on Thursday.

Extreme weather conditions, including low clouds, strong winds and massive, rolling ocean swells initially complicated search efforts.

(FILE) A C-130 military transport plane arrives at Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport in Santiago de Chile. Source: EFE

The first pieces of debris from the plane were discovered by Chilean air force officials late on Wednesday.

A Brazilian ship sailing in the region also found pieces of the plane.

The plane crashed over the Drake Sea, a vast untouched ocean wilderness off the southernmost edge of the South American continent that plunges to 3500 metres.