Wildfires raging throughout central and southern Chile have killed at least 19 people, officials said Saturday, warning that the death toll is expected to rise as responders search through burned-out homes and the flames continue to advance.
President Gabriel Boric has declared a state of emergency due to the catastrophe over the flames, as dry weather and temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) intensify the issue.
The fires are concentrated in the Valparaiso tourism area, along central Chile’s coastline, where they have destroyed thousands of hectares of forest, engulfed coastal cities in a dense cloud of grey smoke, and driven people to evacuate their homes.
Authorities imposed a curfew in the two regions on Saturday morning until noon (1500 GMT) to allow evacuees and emergency personnel to move freely.
“There are 19 people dead”, Interior Minister Carolina Toha said Saturday, adding that the figure is very provisional because responders had yet to visit certain impacted districts.
She reported 92 active fires, with 43,000 hectares (106,000 acres) burned across the country.
“The priority is on the fires in the Valparaiso region because of their proximity to urban areas, where we have several fires”, Toha added.
Overnight, several blocks of homes on the hillsides around the coastal community of Vina del Mar were burned down.
The location, located about 1.5 hours northwest of Santiago, is a popular tourist destination during the hot summer months.
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