The tragic premonition of Sebastián Piñera, a few minutes before the accident: one of the survivors revealed the details of the moment they fell into the water

In the middle of the greeting Sebastiano Pinera In Chile, one of the survivors of the tragedy provided details of the accident that ended the former president’s life and revealed a chilling event. It was when, before taking off, the former president explained to them how to behave in an emergency.

“It all happened very quickly, we fell into the water and there I managed to open the helicopter door”explains Bautista, son of Ignacio Guerrero, the entrepreneur and friend of Piñera who was traveling as co-pilot in the Robinson 44 which crashed last Tuesday on the waters of Lake Ranco, an exclusive location more than 800 kilometers south of the capital. where the former president spent summers with his family.

The young man, 23 years old, was traveling behind his father, together with Piñera’s sister. It was after 2.30 pm when they decided to return from the house of José Cox, another friend of the former president who had received them for lunch in the middle of the holidays.

The law student reminds that, before embarking on the outward journey, Piñera explained to him what he should do with the doors of the aircraft in emergency cases, such as the possibility of falling into the lake. Those routine words, similar to the instructions of a stewardess to passengers on a plane, ended up being fundamental to emerging unscathed from the accident.

On the way back – says Bautista – there were problems a couple of minutes after take-off. “Due to poor visibility we turned where we could see the coast better and there we ran into the water“, he says in conversation with Mercury.

“The last thing I heard was that (Piñera) would change course. Then he could have said something else, but I didn’t listen to him,” says the young man who, like the rest of the passengers, was wearing headphones on the plane.

Within seconds the plane crashed into the lake. Second Baptist The impact wasn’t strong, but the helicopter was tilted towards the side where Piñera was, leaving those doors underwater. And she immediately began to sink. This would explain why the former president did not leave in time.

On the other side, the door was on the water. Amid the nervousness and tension, Bautista remembered those earlier words from Piñera. “First I opened the door, then I took off my belt and, when the helicopter was filled, I got out. The headphones fell off by themselves,” she says.

As they sank, her father and Magdalena Piñera managed to get out. “Everything was very fast. The water was dark and deep”he remembers.

After escaping the plane, they started swimming but a boat appeared before they reached the shore. It was José Cox, with his son. Alerted by the situation, they rescued them at the same time as another boat appeared to help them. At that point the helicopter had already completely sunk and there was no longer a trace of Piñera. “We were all very bad, we already knew he was dead”slides, with anguish.

His father, Ignacio, managed to utter only a few words, small but strong, in front of the press. “The real hero is here, by my side”he said, pointing to his son Bautista.

The last farewell to Sebastián Piñera

Chile said goodbye this Friday with a moving and solemn state funeral to former president Sebastián Piñera, who died last Tuesday in a helicopter crash on a lake in southern Chile.

From the early hours of the morning, the ministers Gabriele Boricparliamentarians, members of the judiciary and representatives of the entire political spectrum arrived at the old Congress in Santiago to greet the former president on the third and final day of national mourning.

President Boric, the last of the representatives of the three branches of government to speak, said that Piñera “was a man who always put Chile first, who never allowed himself to be carried away by fanaticism or resentment.”

“He was a leader who paved the way for a modern and democratic right,” added Boric, who as an MP was a staunch opponent of his predecessor and also challenged him as a student leader during the massive protests of 2011.

The former president spoke first Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle (1994-2000), who underlined that “he has always tried to serve the country with his values, his inexhaustible energy and a lot of passion”, and the former president Michelle Bachelet (2006-2010 and 2014-2018), which highlighted him as “an interlocutor capable of dialogue and listening to criticism”.

After a touching embrace to the widow and former first lady, Cecilia Moreland the family’s gratitude for the interventions, the ceremony concluded with a symbolic guard of honor led by Boric himself and the former leaders, who escorted the coffin for a few minutes.

After the tribute to the Congress, the procession left for the Metropolitan Cathedral, where the Archbishop of Santiago, Fernando Chomalí, celebrated a mass. After the homily, close and prominent personalities dedicated some words to the former president, including Luis Urzúa, representative of the 33 miners rescued from the San José mine in 2010, one of the successes of his first administration.

“Thanks to him we were saved and today we can give a testimony and say: ‘Yes, president, you could have done it, you took us from the land, you fought for us with your family,’” he said.

As for the family, Speakers include two of his grandchildren and Sebastián Piñera Morel, the third of his four children.. “The name of Sebastián Piñera Echenique will be remembered forever, a unique man, honest, courageous, persevering, empathetic and respectful; a man who did not know hatred, much less resentment and, above all, the most intelligent man who has never known,” said León, 18, the oldest of his grandchildren.

Subsequently, the procession passed through La Moneda (seat of government), where hundreds of followers were waiting for it. The coffin was paraded to the rhythm of Frédéric Chopin’s “Funeral March”, embraced by the stony silence of the audience. Boric and the palace guard, appointed to receive him every day during his tenure, paid him a final homage there.