Former Chilean leader gave life in air crash to save others

SEBASTIAN PINERA, the former president of Chile who died after the helicopter he was piloting crashed into a lake, reportedly gave his life to save his passengers.

Piñera told those on board – his son, sister Magdalena and a friend – to leap into the water while he wrestled with the controls of the malfunctioning aircraft. The trio were unhurt and managed to swim to the shore.

“You jump first, because if I jump with you, the helicopter will fall on top of you,” the 74-year-old billionaire shouted in his final moments on Tuesday, according to Karla Rubilar, a former minister in Piñera’s 2018 to 2022 government.

By delaying his escape, Piñera may have saved his companions, added Ms Rubilar, who said she had spoken with Magdalena. She added that the selflessness shown by Piñera in his final moments was typical of him. “That is who he was and that is why we are here now with our heart torn in two,” she told Chilean TV channel Canal 24.

Police divers found Piñera’s body beside the mangled helicopter on the Patagonian lake bed 70ft below the surface.

A post mortem concluded he died from drowning. The findings also refuted suggestions he may have had a heart attack while piloting the aircraft.

Flying conditions were reported to have been poor, with wind and rain, when Piñera, an experienced amateur pilot, took off from a friend’s home to cross Lake Ranco, in southern Chile’s remote wilds.

He is reported to have wanted lunch at his summer house, which was an hour’s drive away around the lake but seven minutes by helicopter.

As well as his 2018-22 term, Piñera also led Chile from 2010-14, during some particularly turbulent times.