VINÁ DEL MAR, CHILE – Sebastián Piñera, a two-time former Chilean president whose second term faced social upheaval following the pandemic, died in a helicopter crash on Tuesday. He was 74 years old.
Chile’s Interior Minister Carolina Toja confirmed the former president’s death. Further details about the cause of the accident were not immediately released.
He served as president from 2010 to 2014 and from 2018 to 2022, leading the South American nation through devastating natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis.
He also ruled during the coronavirus pandemic, putting Chile in the top five countries for vaccination rates against the disease.
His achievements were undermined in October 2019 by a violent police crackdown on demonstrators protesting against the country’s education, health and pension systems.
