MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Two-day national mourning in Chile for the victims of the plane crash at sea

The Juan Fernandez archipelago, located 670 kilometers from the mainland, is known for possibly having inspired the novel Robinson Crusoe.

Chile on Sunday declared two days of national mourning after rescuers gave up hope for 21 people believed killed when an air force plane crashed off Juan Fernandez (Robinson Crusoe) Island in the Pacific.

The tragedy has prompted nationwide grief and only four bodies have been recovered since the Casa 212 turbo-prop plane, believed to have been thrown off course by strong winds, went down late Friday during a failed attempt to land.

The search resumed on Sunday but Chilean officials said earlier there was no hope of finding survivors as all on board would have died on impact.

President Sebastian Piñera said mourning on Monday and Tuesday would allow people to express solidarity with the families of victims, who included one of the country's best-known television personalities

”After a search involving the commander in chief of the FACh (Chilean air force) the conclusion has been reached that the impact was so powerful it would have led to the instant death of those on board the plane,” said Defense Minister Andres Allamand.

The accident was considered the worst in Chilean aviation in the last three decades.

Earlier Saturday, Chilean officials said the bodies of two women and two men were recovered by searchers or fishermen. Searchers said they had also found pieces of the plane's wreckage.

Among those aboard were popular television personality Felipe Camiroaga and four other members of a crew from a morning show on Chilean state television. They were planning to film a report about reconstruction on the Islands after last year's devastating earthquake and tsunami.