Details of the death of former Chilean President Sebastián Piñera
Following the unfortunate plane crash, more details have emerged regarding the death of former Chilean President Sebastián Piñera.
The funeral procession for the former Chilean President Sebastián Piñera began on Wednesday amidst applause from the city of Valdivia in southern Chile.
The country is preparing for three days of State funerals for Piñera, who died on Tuesday when the helicopter he was piloting crashed in Lake Ranco.
The remains of the former right-wing president, who served as Chile’s president from 2010 to 2014 and from 2018 to 2022, will travel from Valdivia, 850 km south of Santiago, to the capital in an air force plane accompanied by his widow, Cecilia Morel, children, grandchildren, and a sister who were with Piñera.
Before the death of former Chilean President Sebastián Piñera, he was at his vacation home in a forested area near the vast lake, located about 70 kilometers further south.
Many details have emerged following the death of former Chilean President Sebastián Piñera.
Piñera’s last words before dying to save his sister and two passengers were: “You jump first, the helicopter will fall on all of us.”
In other words, Piñera estimated that if he stopped piloting the helicopter, it could fall on everyone or be pulled by the suction of the impact.
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Theories surrounding the death of former Chilean President Sebastián Piñera
The former president, 74 years old, had just taken off piloting his helicopter after lunch with friends and was traveling with his sister Magdalena Piñera, his friend and businessman Ignacio Guerrero, and Guerrero’s son, Bautista Guerrero.
The other three passengers survived practically unscathed by jumping from the aircraft and swimming.
The prosecution is investigating the causes of the accident that occurred on a rainy day, with wind and considerable cloudiness.
According to the account of a close friend at the scene, it is speculated that Piñera felt unwell shortly before crashing.
In fact, former Chilean President Sebastián Piñera was the only crew member who could not release his seatbelt in this lake of turbulent and deep waters.
Los Ríos Regional Prosecutor Tatiana Esquivel told the Chilean newspaper ‘La Tercera’ that the cause of former Chilean President Sebastián Piñera’s death was revealed after the autopsy.
“The autopsy was performed overnight, and this morning the former president’s family was informed of the result of this procedure, and we, as the Prosecution, are now in a position to inform the community that the medical-legal cause of former President Sebastián Piñera’s death is asphyxia due to drowning.”
According to authorities, former President Piñera drowned, and given the possible theories that he suffered a heart attack while piloting his helicopter, the prosecutor was tacit.
“Since it was asphyxia due to drowning, we do not consider any other possibility as the cause of death.”
Regarding what caused the accident, the official told the mentioned media: “we do not have any particular theory; however, forensic or medical-legal expertise does allow us to develop a more probable theory of how the dynamics of this air accident would have been. As we mentioned, at this moment, there is also a technical team dedicated to conducting all the expertise related to the helicopter where the accident occurred.”
Piñera, who held a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University in the United States, was a savvy businessman who amassed a fortune in banking and various sectors.
He turned 74 on December 1st and was known for piloting his own helicopter.
