France will send “
in the next few hours
” 80 firefighters and rescuers from Civil Security to Chile to help the country, hit by an intense heat wave, to fight deadly forest fires, announced Tuesday February 7 Gérald Darmanin.
“
At the request of the President of the Republic, 80 firefighters and rescuers will travel to Chile in the coming hours to support their counterparts who have been fighting courageously for several days against very intense fires
,” tweeted the French Minister of the Interior.
Latest balance sheets
According to a latest report on Monday from the Chilean National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (Senapred), the fires have since Thursday killed 26 people, injured 1,260 and left 3,000 people homeless.
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At least 1,159 homes were destroyed by the flames.
International aid
The United States, Spain, Argentina and Mexico are already participating in international aid by sending material resources (planes, trucks, helicopters, drones, etc.) and human resources (fire experts, soldiers, firefighters ...).
“
The Chilean people can count on the support of France to fight against this scourge
,” French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted on Monday February 6.