131 people have died in wildfires that have burned nearly 430,000 hectares until today in Chile, mainly in the tourist area of Valparaiso, on the Pacific coast plagued by very high temperatures. A video shows a bus full of passengers going through the flames:
A total of 92 fires were active this afternoon, of which 40 had been brought under control, mainly in the Valparaiso region of western Chile, but also in the central and southern parts of the country, Interior Minister Carolina Toja announced.
Photos that have gone viral on social media, taken by drivers of cars stranded at the scene, show the mountains burning near the famous “Highway 68”, a thoroughfare traveled by thousands of tourists to reach the Pacific beaches.
At least 131 people died in a single sector of Viña del Mar, Toja said, clarifying that it was a “very provisional” toll as rescue services could not yet access other sectors also affected by the fire.
In the hills of the seaside resort, where the roads are lined with hundreds of charred cars, thousands of people returned to their damaged homes today.
Curfew
A curfew was declared this morning, February 3, in several municipalities in the region to allow evacuees and emergency teams to move.
Firefighters have been fighting since Friday against dozens of fires in the Valparaiso and O’Higgins areas in the center, but also in Maule, Biobio, La Araucania and Los Lagos, in the south.
“Priority is the fires in the Valparaiso region, due to its proximity to urban areas, said the Secretary of the Interior.
These are areas located 80 to 120 km northwest of Santiago, rich in viticultural, agricultural and forestry enterprises. Due to their proximity to the Pacific beaches, they see a large influx of tourists during this time of the Australian summer.
The president of Chile, Gabriel Borich, declared a state of emergency in order to “make available all the necessary means” against the progress of the fires, as reported by newsbomb.gr.
“All forces have been deployed to extinguish the forest fires,” assured the head of state in a message posted on Platform X. Fourteen ships and five helicopters are involved in extinguishing them.
