Chilean ex-President Sebastián Piñera, a two-term leader and billionaire businessman, tragically lost his life in a helicopter crash at the age of 74. The incident occurred near the southern town of Lago Ranco, with three other passengers surviving the crash in a lake.

While there is no official confirmation that Piñera was the pilot, who flew his own helicopter, the nation is in mourning. Tributes have poured in from across the political spectrum in Latin America. Piñera, a conservative politician, was widely acknowledged for fostering rapid economic growth during his initial term from 2010 to 2014. Internationally, he gained prominence for overseeing the dramatic rescue of 33 miners trapped beneath the Atacama Desert in 2010.

However, his second term, from 2018 until last year, was marred by violent social unrest. The Chilean navy recovered Piñera’s body in the region where, according to reports, he spent holidays with his family annually in February.

Chile’s current president, leftist Gabriel Boric, announced three days of mourning and a state funeral. Boric paid a warm tribute, stating, “We are all Chile and we should dream it, draw it and build it together.” He recalled Piñera’s words upon assuming his second term in 2018 and extended condolences to the late president’s family.

Leaders across Latin America expressed their grief over Piñera’s passing. Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva shared his surprise and sadness, highlighting their positive collaboration, while Argentina’s former President Mauricio Macri lamented an “irreplaceable loss.” Iván Duque, the former conservative president of Colombia, expressed great sadness over the death of his friend.

In 2010, Piñera made history as Chile’s first conservative president since the end of military rule in 1990. A Harvard-trained economist, he leveraged his business acumen to drive the nation’s economic growth. Born in 1949, Piñera became one of Chile’s wealthiest individuals, amassing his fortune in the 1980s through ventures like introducing credit cards to Chile via his company Bancard. He also invested in major entities such as Lan Chile, the largest airline in Chile, Colo Colo, the country’s premier football club, and a television channel.