A group of Chilean mountaineers say they have located the crash site of one of the world’s longest unsolved aviation mysteries.
The climbers said they have found wreckage of a LAN flight which disappeared in the Andes Mountains in 1961, killing all 24 people on board.
It made worldwide headlines at the time as it was carrying eight members of Chile’s Green Cross professional soccer team.
The Douglas DC-3 went down en route to Santiago and search and rescue teams spent weeks in the mountains trying to locate the wreckage.
According to expedition member Leonardo Albornoz the wreckage was found 10,000 feet above sea level but the exact location is not being disclosed to the public for fear of looting.
"The plane is more than 10,000 feet above sea level. A large part of the fuselage is still intact and a lot of material including human bones are scattered around the wreck," he said.
"This story is being rewritten because they’re not where official publications indicated.
"We don’t want this place to be defiled and the remains taken as trophies. You have to remember people died here and their families deserve respect."
