Bachelet remembers pilot as "a great man and a grand professional"

SANTIAGO.- At 11:40 A.M. on the dot and dressed in black, President Michelle Bachelet arrived to the San Miguel Church of the Armed Forces of Chile (FACh), interrupting her vacation at Lake Caburgua in order to accompany the family of Commander Eduardo Canala. The man died Sunday while piloting a helicopter headed to fight a forest fire in Chanco in the Seventh Region.

"I would like to express my condolences to the 13 families affected by this tragedy", stated the President upon arrival at the mass where she was welcomed by the FACh Commander in Chief, Ricardo Ortega.

The Head of State remembered the pilot as "a great man and a grand professional".

She went on to comment that on the last flight taken with Canala and the presidential delegation to Brazil "we said goodbye to him and wished him the very best at the War Academy, where he was planning to study", stated Bachelet.

Minister of Defense, José Goñi, also attended the mass and stated that those who work in the public sector receive much less compensation than those in the private sector.

Also present were the government spokesperson, Francisco Vidal, and representatives from the Police Force.