He was driving his ultralight helicopter together with three other people when, probably due to bad weather, the aircraft crashed into the deep waters of Lake Ranco, in the Los Rios region, in southern Chile. This is how the former president died Chilean, Sebastian Pinera, 74 years old, the only one of the occupants who was unable to save himself.
According to the testimonies of the survivors - his sister, his brother-in-law and a nephew - the former head of state did not have time to unfasten his seat belts and sank with his Robinson-R66 to a depth of 40 metres.
Pinera had gone to visit a friend, the entrepreneur José Cox, and had decided to return to his residence, not far away, despite the rain and fog.
The accident occurred in the early afternoon, and the images of the emergency services who arrived immediately on the scene still showed the heavy rainfall.
Within a few dozen minutes, rumors of the former president's disappearance began to circulate.
But at least for a couple of hours the news was treated with the utmost caution and while the rescue workers recovered the body, officially there was still talk of a missing person.
The body of the former president, according to local media, was recovered from inside the aircraft, which was already lying on the bottom of the lake.
The government of President Gabriel Boric, in breaking the news of his passing, announced a state funeral and decreed national mourning.
"He will have all the republican honors that he deserves" stated the Minister of the Interior, Carolina Toha, on behalf of the executive.
Condolences immediately arrived from the governments of the region, first of all from the Argentine president, Javier Milei, who issued a statement on the official profile of the Casa Rosada, when the official confirmation of the death from the Chilean authorities had not yet arrived.
Prominent personality in regional politics and point of reference for the entire conservative Latin American area, Pinera led Chile for two terms, from 2010 to 2014 and from 2018 to 2022, also being the first right-wing president since the return of democracy in 1990 His last presidency was characterized by social protests and student riots.
Still active in politics, he opposed the movement for the reform of the Constitution, which had started with protests from the left.
He was the last president before Chile's turn to the left with Boric.
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