Plane crash in Chile: Former president of country Sebastián Piñera died
Photo: Former President of Chile Sebastian Piñera (photo from open sources)
On Tuesday, February 6, former President of the Republic of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, tragically lost his life in a helicopter crash. He was 74 years old, reports La Tercera.
The incident occurred in the commune of Lago Ranco in the Los Rios region, where heavy rains were reported on Tuesday. Carabineros received notification of the accident at 14:57 local time. Police and Naval forces were the first to arrive at the scene of the tragedy.
Four people were on board the aircraft, and rescuers located three of them.
The former head of state was piloting the plane, en route to lunch at businessman José Cox's residence. The aircraft flew a few meters, lost control near the shore, and plunged into the water at a depth of 40 meters.
Divers from the firefighting brigade retrieved Piñera's body and brought it ashore on a Navy boat.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a three-day national mourning period for the loss of the politician.
Sebastián Piñera was born on December 1, 1949, in Santiago. He was the son of Magdalena Echenique Rosas and José Piñera Carvallo, a member of the Christian Democratic Party who served as an ambassador to Belgium and the UN in Eduardo Frei Montalva's government.
Piñera attended primary and secondary school at Verbo Divino College. Later, he enrolled in the Faculty of Economics at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, where he earned a degree in commercial engineering. In 1973, he moved to the United States to continue his studies in the graduate program at Harvard University.
From 2010 to 2022, he held the position of President of the Republic of Chile for two consecutive terms.
Recent fatal plane crashes
In mid-January, a firefighting plane crashed in Chile. The tragedy occurred near Panguilemo Airport as the aircraft collided with power lines and vehicles.
At the end of January in Belgium, a plane crashed into a car, resulting in the death of two German citizens. The pilot was unable to reach the runway.
In the capital of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek, a military Mi-8 helicopter crashed. The aviation disaster occurred at Frunze-1 airbase, leading to one fatality and injuries to seven others.
