Deadliest Forest Fires in Chile: 112 Dead in the Deadliest Catastrophe Since the 2010 Earthquake
In Central Chile, intense forest fires have killed 112 people and left hundreds more unaccounted for.
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On Sunday, firefighters in central Chile fought to contain intense forest fires that have destroyed entire towns and claimed the lives of 112 people, while President Gabriel Boric issued a dire warning that the nation is facing a "tragedy of very great magnitude".
Authorities believe that hundreds of people are still unaccounted for, which fuels concerns that the death toll will rise when more remains are discovered on hillsides and in homes that have been completely destroyed by wildfires. The boundaries of two major tourist destinations, Vina del Mar and Valparaiso, were now in danger due to the fires that intensified on Friday. More than a million people live in the cities' urban expansion to the west of Santiago, the capital.
Reuters obtained drone images in the Vina del Mar area showing entire neighborhoods burned and people searching amid the ruins of burned-out buildings with collapsing corrugated iron roofs. Cars that had caught fire were all over the streets.
"The heat was intense and the breeze was awful. No relief was in sight. People scattered everywhere "As he stood among the blackened remnants of his demolished house, Pedro Quezada, a local builder in the Valparaiso area, stated.
Social media users posted videos of hillside fires in the Valparaiso region that were blazing near apartment buildings and shooting smoke into the sky. Visibility was impaired in other urban areas due to a thick layer of haze.
In order to assist firefighters in containing the spread of the fires, Chilean authorities have implemented a curfew that begins at 9 p.m. in the most affected areas. Helicopters have also been used to attempt aerial firefighting.
According to the state coroner for Chile, the Legal Medical Service, 112 persons have perished in the flames. As of Saturday, 51 people had died.
Earlier in the day, Boric warned Chile to brace itself for more terrible news as he declared two days of national mourning to begin on Monday.
"In a statement broadcast to the country, Boric stated, 'It is Chile as a whole that hurts and mourns our deceased. "We are facing a tragedy of very great magnitude."
On Sunday, 165 fires broke out around Chile, according to Deputy Interior Minister Manuel Monsalve, who also claimed that 14,000 residences in the Vina del Mar and Quilpué regions alone had sustained damage.
When they eventually made it back to their destroyed homes, many had lost everything they had ever owned.
Welder Sergio Espejo, 64, and his wife, Maria Soledad Suarez, peered through the ashes of their soldering factory and Vina del Mar house.
