Between anguish and discouragement, Chile is now preparing to count its deaths from the fires that broke out on Friday.
As the fire in the Chilean region of
Valparaíso
dissipates and the smoke diminishes, the dimensions of the tragedy
are beginning to become clearer.
Authorities confirmed on Sunday that
There are 112 deaths and they estimate that about 15,000 houses were damaged in the four affected towns, which would be equivalent to about
40,000 victims.
Photograph of burned-out homes in Villa Independencia, in Viña del Mar. Photo: EFE
These figures still need to be confirmed by reality in the coming days, but in any case it seems clear that the
magnitude of the destruction is enormous
.
President Gabriel Boric said on Sunday that this is the worst tragedy the country has experienced in terms of number of victims since the earthquake of February 27, 2010.
The president decreed
two days of
official mourning starting Monday.
"Like an atomic bomb"
“It's as if it had been an atomic bomb,” says Marcela while showing Chilean television the magnitude of the damage.
She walks between two blackened walls that are still standing.
On the floor there is nothing but a pile of metal sheets, and only his oven has not burned completely.
“There were gigantic flames in the street.
The neighbors burned to death trying to escape
,” he adds.
Two arrested
The ferocious forest fires in Valparaíso and Marga, in Chile, have already claimed 112 lives, according to the latest report from local authorities, who also report the
arrest of two people considered suspected of starting fires.
The head of National Defense in the provinces of Valparaíso and Marga Marga, Rear Admiral Daniel Muñoz, confirmed that two suspects of starting fires in the vicinity of the Botanical Garden of Viña del Mar were arrested, reported the BioBio portal.
People from the irregular camp “Pompeya” collect debris after the fires.
Photo: EFE
Muñoz pointed out that patrolling with police and military personnel in the disaster area is being intensified and that thanks to this, two
suspects detected by the flight of an
Air Force helicopter were reported.
A curfew is in effect in the region that was brought forward to 6 p.m.
Furthermore, in the early hours of Monday, residents of the affected areas have chased individuals who believe they are suspected of starting fires.
Gabriel Boric assured that the country faces a tragedy of "very large magnitude" and that the number of victims
will continue to grow "significantly."
The highest authorities of the Valparaíso region have requested that the work of the investigation of deaths be accelerated given
the high number of people reported to the police as missing.
Some "190 people are still missing in Viña del Mar," the mayor of that city, Macarena Ripamonti, said in a press conference.
The fire is concentrated in the Valparaíso coastal region, home to almost a million inhabitants, headquarters of Congress and one of the country's main ports.
Hundreds of firefighters, soldiers and brigade members fight to put out several outbreaks in the center and south of the country.
"We are facing a tragedy of very large magnitudes," Boric said in a message to the nation, where he added that he made the decision to maintain the curfew and reinforce the presence of the military in the most affected areas.
In addition to Valparaíso
, the fire was active in the central regions
of O'Higgins, Maule and Ñuble and the southern La Araucanía.
The high temperatures, wind and low humidity quickly spread the forest fire, which quickly reached homes, explains Joan Saavedra, an urban planner from Valparaíso who saw the fire 300 meters from his house.
Long rows of charred cars are beginning to be seen in Viña del Mar.
Photo: Rodrigo Arangua/ AFP
“The first neighborhoods that were affected were
the informal settlements
built illegally on the outskirts of the city, very exposed on these slopes with trees sensitive to fire.
This first line was affected, and then the flames spread to more formal neighborhoods,” he explains.
With several extinct outbreaks near the most populated hills,
residential hills reduced to ashes and long rows of charred cars
in the streets are beginning to be seen in Viña del Mar.
It is unknown if they are
parked vehicles or those of people who were trying to evacuate
and were trapped in traffic, trying to escape under a shower of forest embers.
The fire also forced work to be stopped at the Aconcagua refinery, the second largest in the country, located about 15 kilometers north of the coastal city Viña del Mar, heavily affected by the fires.
With information from ANSA and RFI