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News > Chile

Former President Sebastián Piñera Dies in Plane Crash

  • Helicopter in which former president Sebastián Piñera was traveling crashed in the south of the country. Feb. 6, 2024.

    Helicopter in which former president Sebastián Piñera was traveling crashed in the south of the country. Feb. 6, 2024. | Photo: X/@telesurenglish

Published 6 February 2024
Opinion

President Boric has instructed that a state funeral be held and that national mourning be declared.
 

The Chilean government has confirmed the death of former president Sebastián Piñera, in a plane crash that occurred this Tuesday in the Lago Ranco commune, in the south of the country.

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According to the Chilean Minister of the Interior, Carolina Tohá, the former president was aboard a helicopter that crashed in the rural sector of Ilihue, in Lago Ranco, Los Ríos region.

Tohá, announced that the government of Gabriel Boric declares national mourning, and anticipated that there will be a state funeral. "He will have all the honors and republican recognitions he deserves. President Boric has instructed that a state funeral be held and that national mourning be declared," said the minister.

Personnel from the Chilean Navy, emergency agents, firefighters and the Emergency Medical Care Service (Samu) have responded to the rescue area. 

Three people survived the crash: Magdalena Piñera (sister of the former president), businessman Ignacio Guerrero and his son were also on board. 

The helicopter reportedly took off in the middle of a rainy day with fog affecting the area, which could have caused it to crash.

Piñera, 74, was President of Chile on two non-consecutive occasions: between 2010 and 2014, and subsequently between 2018 and 2022.

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