The death of Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda days after Chile's 1973 military coup should be reinvestigated, an appeals court has ruled, saying new steps could help clarify what killed the poet.

It is the first time the Chilean government will lead the search for victims, something which victims' relatives and advocates have long carried out themselves and have sought help from the army.

After mass protests, and amid a pandemic, Chileans go to the polls Sunday for a referendum over whether to scrap the constitution introduced under Gen. Augusto Pinochet's rule.