Forest fires in Chile: at least 51 people killed, according to the latest provisional report.
Since the end of last week, forest fires have raged in central Chile and have already caused the death of at least 51 people, authorities announced on Saturday February 3. The toll is likely to rise further, the fires have destroyed 43,000 hectares of forest.
In fact, as the fire spread, at least 51 people have already lost their lives. Authorities expect the death toll to rise this Sunday. These forest fires are considered the deadliest tragedy of the last decade in Chile.
Citizens told the media that they lost everything in a matter of minutes. The fire burned their homes, their family members were also killed because of the forest fires.
According to Manuel Monsalve, undersecretary at the Interior Ministry, between 3,000 and 6,000 homes were damaged or destroyed by the forest fires.
Furthermore, Chilean President Gabriel Boric, who flew over the city by helicopter, announced that the number of victims would increase as the fires became more widespread.
However, firefighters have been working tirelessly since Friday to try to put out the fires in homes. In the regions of Valparaiso and O’Higgins in the center, but also Maule, Biobio, La Araucania and Los Lagos in the south, they are doing what is necessary. “The priority is the fires in the Valparaiso region, due to their proximity to urban areas,” said Interior Minister Carolina Toha.
These forest fires are the result of the El Niño climatic phenomenon which is currently affecting southern Latin America. THE Chili and Colombia are already affected, the heat wave is already threatening Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay in the coming days.
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