Chilean forensic investigators have exhumed the body of famed poet Pablo Neruda to try to solve a four-decade-old mystery about the death of one of the greatest poets of all time.

Allegedly, the Nobel laureate poet died from prostate cancer and the psychological trauma of witnessing the 1973 military coup that led to the killing of many of his friends.

However, Neruda's driver and many other Chileans claim that the poet was murdered by agents of General Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship.

Almost halting plans for the exhumation, experts were concerned that high salinity and humidity could prevent any legitimate study of Neruda's remains, as he is buried at his home in Isla Negra, a rocky ledge overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

However, head of Chile's medical legal service Patricio Bustos said Neruda's casket is in good shape after the one-hour exhumation. Forensics workers have taken Neruda's remains to the capital city for tests, reported the Huffington Post. 

Bustos told reporters, "After we take a look at our lab, following the biomedical safety measures and with total vigilance, we will be able to set a timeline for the process."

"The most complex part will be searching for toxic substances that could not only be classic poisons, but also, according to testimonies, could be medical substances at very high doses to harm the poet," Bustos said, according to Huffington Post.

Neruda won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1971, and was best known for his romantic poetry. He was a diplomat and close friend of socialist Chilean President Santiago Allende. Allende commit suicide to avoid surrender to military troops during Pinochet's coup.

Neruda planned to exile himself and continue speaking out against the dictatorship. A day before he was scheduled to leave Chile, he was transported to Santa Maria Hospital in Santiago. Neruda officially died there on September 23 from natural causes allegedly related to the psychological trauma of the coup.

However, Manuel Araya, Neruda's driver and bodyguard, always spoke against the claims that Neruda had died a 'natural death,' instead claiming that he was murdered when Pinochet's agents injected Neruda's stomach with poison at the hospital. Araya said, "If it hadn't been for that shot, Neruda wouldn't have died."

"After seeing him being removed from the site, I felt a huge amount of pain because I lived the 24 hours with Neruda before his death. It took a long time, but justice has been served."

The investigating judge, Mario Carroza, originally doubted the murder theory, but sufficient evidence has been uncovered over the last two years to order the exhumation.

Neruda's exhumation was attended by Araya and one of Neruda's nephews. Rodolfo Reyes, one of Neruda's four nephews, said, "It was an emotional moment that reached our very fibers. It's very important that the truth is known and the eyes of the world are set on this new investigation."