Santiago [Chile], February 7: Mr. Sebastian Pinera, former two-term president of Chile, died in a helicopter crash he was piloting at the age of 75.
According to preliminary reports, the helicopter piloted by Mr. Sebastian Pinera crashed into Lago Ranco lake in southern Chile, where he has his home, according to The Guardian newspaper on February 7.
Immediately after the rescue team arrived, the former president of Chile died, while the remaining three people on the helicopter survived and managed to swim to shore.
Lago Ranco Lake is about 920 km south of Chile's capital Santiago, where Mr. Pinera often spends holidays with his children and grandchildren.
Chilean Interior Minister Carolina Toha confirmed information about the former president's death in a helicopter crash , adding that his body had been recovered.
Current President Gabriel Boric announced a 3-day national mourning for the entire people to remember the former leader.
Mr. Pinera is an economist who graduated from Harvard University (USA) and became a billionaire by bringing credit card technology to Chile in the 1980s. He holds a significant amount of stock in an airline, a television station and one of the country's largest football clubs.
He was elected to two non-consecutive presidential terms, from 2010 to 2014 and from 2018 to 2022.
Mr. Pinera is perhaps best known worldwide for his leadership in the spectacular rescue of 33 miners trapped beneath the Atacama Desert in 2010. The rescue of the miners became a global event and was widely recognized. Made into a movie titled "The 33", released in 2014.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
