Augusto Pinochet, the former Chilean President from 1973 to 1990, died at 91 on Sunday at 2:15 PM (17:15 GMT) from heart complications, a statement from the Santiago Military hospital said on Sunday.

The hospital said Pinochet' condition suddenly worsened as doctors rushed him back to the Intensive Care Unit, from which he had only removed on Thursday. He had been recovering from an acute heart attack he suffered one week ago.

Relatives and friends of Pinochet were arriving at the hospital.

Pinochet had been admitted to hospital a week earlier with what doctors described as an acute heart attack. He underwent an angioplasty procedure in which doctors enlarged a clogged artery, restoring blood flow to the heart.

Last Sunday, Pinochet had a coronary bypass operation after suffering a heart attack, a very risky operation for someone of his age.

Pinochet has been accused of four charges: the Caravan of Death Case, referring to the kidnap and murder of two personal guards of Salvador Allende, the left-wing president deposed by Pinochet in the coup of Sept. 11, 1973; two other major human rights abuse cases, and one for allegedly embezzling US$27 million of public funds.

In 2000, Chile's Supreme Court stripped Pinochet of his presidential immunity, paving the way for a trial. However, two years later, the same court dropped the charges, saying the former president was too ill to stand trial.

Born on Nov. 25, 1915, in Valparaiso City, Pinochet seemed bred for a career in the military, being educated at the Military Academy, the School of Infantry, the Academy of War and the Academy of National Defense.

Pinochet began his army career in 1933 rising up the ranks to become Commander-in-Chief of the army division in 1969, Commander-in-Chief of the Santiago garrison in 1971 and Chief of Staff of the Army in 1972. He led a military coup on Sept. 11, 1973 as Commander-in-Chief of the army, deposing president Salvador Allende to form a military government.

Since then, he remained President of the military junta and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, head of state from June 1974 and President of Chile from Dec. 17, 1974. He resigned in March 1990 after 55 percent of voters rejected a proposal that Pinochet should stay in power in a national referendum held on Oct.5.

(Xinhua News Agency December 11, 2006)