Chilean ex-president Sebastian Piñera has died from drowning after the helicopter he was travelling in crashed into a lake in the country's south.
Local prosecutor Tatiana Esquivel revealed on Tuesday (local time) his cause of death was "asphyxiation due to submersion".
Mr Piñera was piloting the helicopter when it came down shortly after take-off in the waters of Lake Ranco.
There were three other passengers onboard at the time, with all three surviving the crash.
Mr Pinera's death comes as Chile attempts to recover from massive deadly wildfires in the county's central region.
His funeral will take place on Friday.
Who is Sebastian Piñera?
Mr Piñera was a Harvard-trained economist who made his fortune introducing credit cards to Chile in the 1980s.
As of 2024, he was ranked 1,176 on Forbes' global rich list, with a net worth of $US2.7 billion ($4.1 billion).
The billionaire conservative was president from 2010 to 2014 and 2018 to 2022.
He led the South American nation through moments of profound crisis, including the aftermath of an 8.8-magnitude earthquake and tsunami.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Piñera's governance led Chile to become one of the global leaders in vaccination.
Internationally, he was perhaps best known for overseeing the rescue of 33 miners trapped for 69 days beneath the Atacama Desert in 2010.
However, his legacy is marred by violent police repression in October 2019 against protesters who were demonstrating against the country's education, health, and pension systems.
Mr Piñera was an experienced helicopter pilot, Chile's former defence minister Alberto Espina said.
He and his wife Cecilia Morel had four children.
Why did the helicopter crash?
We're not sure yet.
Bad weather conditions were reported in the area on the day of the crash.
The local prosecutor said authorities were using forensic data to come up with a possible theory and that a specialised team was investigating the crash site.
Tributes flow for Piñera
After the news of his death, the political world reacted with messages of condolences.
Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wrote on X that it was sad that Mr Piñera had died so "abruptly".
"We worked to strengthen the relationship between our countries and we always had a good dialogue when we were both presidents and also when we weren't," Mr Silva said.
Argentina's former president Mauricio Macri also expressed his immense sadness at the death of his "dear friend".
"He was a good person, committed like no one else to Chile and to the values of freedom and democracy in Latin America," Mr Macri said.
"It really is a total, irreplaceable loss."
Paraguay's former president Mario Adbo said Mr Piñera always "supported" the entire region.
"Just yesterday we were on a video call with a group of former presidents," Mr Abdo wrote on X.
"We are deeply shocked by this sad news. My solidarity to the entire Piñera family and the Chilean people."
ABC with Wires