Forest fires in central Chile, February 4, 2024/Photo: Reuters
Black smoke billows in the sky over the tourist town of Viña del Mar, in central Chile.
Forest fires broke out in many centers near the city and throughout the center of the country and for the moment claimed the lives of at least 46 people.
The president of Chile, Gabriel Boric, warned that the death toll is still expected to climb.
"The situation is really difficult," said President Burik who made a statement to the nation following the events, "considering the conditions of the tragedy, the number of victims will surely increase in the coming hours."
According to him, 40 people were killed in the fires and another six died of burns in hospitals.
Forest fires in Viña del Mar, Chile, February 4, 2024/Reuters, Photo: Reuters
Forest fires in Viña del Mar, Chile, February 4, 2024/Reuters, Photo: Reuters
"The rescue teams have arrived in areas where there are active fires," Interior Minister Carolina Toha updated earlier and explained that the more they reach the more severely damaged places - the more likely the death toll will rise.
"The report of the dead is very preliminary," Toha said, "we have reports from other places where there are indications of more dead, but at the moment we have no confirmation on the ground."
Minister of the Interior Toha added that there were 92 active fires throughout the country which, for now, left an area of more than 43,000 dunams affected by the fires.
One of the main centers is the Valparaiso city area - home to almost a million residents in the center of the country.
According to the reports, there are many fire and rescue teams fighting the fire with the help of fire trucks and helicopters.
Forest fires in Viña del Mar, Chile, February 4, 2024/Reuters, Photo: Reuters
Forest fires in Viña del Mar, Chile, February 4, 2024/Reuters, Photo: Reuters
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According to the minister, "The area affected by the fire is much smaller than last year - but it may still expand. At this stage, the fear of the authorities in Chile is that some of the active fires will spread towards urban areas - those "with a very high potential for harming people and residential areas". Wildfires are not uncommon in Chile during the summer months,
said Toha.
Last year, at the height of the heat wave, about 27 people died.
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