Former President of Chile Dies in Helicopter Crash

Chile – The Chilean ex-President Sebastian Pinera died in a helicopter crash on Tuesday in the south of the country, three sources stated.

Local media earlier reported the death of the 74-year-old former president, who served two terms from 2010-2014 and 2018-2022. Two current government officials and a former adviser to Pinera confirmed. 

The former adviser said that Pinera did not survive the crash but that three other people onboard were saved, as quoted from Anews site.

Government sources cited by news outlet La Tercera said four people were traveling on the helicopter when it crashed, and that three had been "found by first responders."

Chile's national disaster agency SENAPRAD confirmed that a helicopter crash had occurred in the southern town of Lago Ranco and that one person had been killed and three people injured.

The government did not immediately name who was aboard.

Pinera, also a successful businessman, oversaw quick economic growth and a steep fall in unemployment during his first 2010 to 2014 presidency, at a time when many of Chile's trade partners and neighbors were facing sharply slower growth.

His second presidency from 2018 to 2022 was marked by violent protests against inequality that led to accusations of human rights violations and ended with the government promising to draft a new constitution.

The two-time president also oversaw the country's Covid-19 pandemic response, which included one of the fastest vaccination rates in the world.

One of his first administration's high points, touted often by Pinera himself, was the spectacular rescue in 2010 of 33 miners who were trapped underneath the Atacama desert. The event became a global media sensation and was the subject of a 2014 movie, "The 33."