The return of the return was scheduled for Thursday afternoon, for an arrival in Belgium on Friday at 12:30 p.m. (Belgian time). However, the delegation had to spend two more nights in Antofagasta. Thursday, when the royal couple, the ministers and the delegation had taken their places on the plane, an accident with the track tractor destroyed the chances of rallying the Belgian Tarmac.
The bar of this vehicle which trailers the planes to move them out of their parking area, with a view to takeoff, seems to have given way. The two wheels of the front landing train were damaged but only one spare wheel was available. A second wheel had to be sent from Santiago. She arrived in Antofagasta on Friday evening and the plane was finally able to take off towards Belgium on Saturday morning.
The king and the queen had decided to stay with the delegation stuck in Antofagasta. “”The Titanic has not yet sank, the captain remains on board“, had declared the sovereign, in a rare speaking.”We are all together, whatever happens.“This state visit, the first for 65 years in Latin America, should at the very least remain engraved in the memories of its participants.
