Chile has declared a state of emergency as emergency forces battle a wave of wildfires raging across the country that have so far killed at least 51 people.
The authorities estimate that the death toll is expected to rise.
Dozens killed in huge fires in Chile
Reuters
"Considering the data, the number of victims will surely increase in the coming hours," said last night (Saturday) the president of Chile Gabriel Boric in a special statement on television.
He added that the Ministry of Defense will deploy more military units in the affected areas when all the necessary resources are available.
Carbonized bus in Chile, photo: EPA
The statement was made for the districts of Marga Marga Valparaiso, said Valparaiso presidential representative Sofia Gonzalez Cortes.
A curfew was imposed in several areas from 8 a.m. to noon to facilitate the deployment of emergency forces, she added.
About 92 active fires are burning in different parts of the country and have so far consumed about 43,000 dunams, Interior Minister Carolina Toha said.
Firefighters managed to control about 40 fires and are still fighting 29.
The fear: hundreds of missing people perished, photo: EPA
At least one person has been arrested so far on suspicion of starting a wildfire.
According to the local police, the man was at his home in the city of Talca in central Chile and was doing welding work which inadvertently caused a fire to break out which quickly spread to nearby grasslands.
Hundreds of thousands were evacuated, photo: AP
Emergency crews are prioritizing the fires in the port city and Paraiso on the Chilean coast because of their proximity to urban areas.
About 372 residents were reported missing, according to the mayor.
One of those fires consumed about 6,800 acres, Toha said.
The Valparaiso fires also damaged 1,100 homes, authorities said.
"The biggest concern is that some of the fires are in areas very close to urban areas, so they have a very high potential to affect people, houses and facilities," she added.
The firefighters are fighting the flames, photo: EPA
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