As many as 26,000 hectares of land have already burned in one of the biggest disasters in Chile's history.
In Chile, at least 112 people have died in wildfires raging in the southern and central parts of the country, says a representative of the country's Ministry of the Interior Manuel Monsalve. According to him, 32 of the victims have been identified.
The president of the country Gabriel Boric warned earlier that the number of victims is expected to rise significantly. The fire areas are concentrated around the tourist area of Valparaiso.
According to Monsalvi, there are still 40 active wildfires.
The extinguishing work has been very difficult. The temperature in the area has remained at around 40 degrees and the terrain is very dry.
According to Chile's emergency authorities, almost 26,000 hectares of land had burned by Sunday.
President Boric has declared a state of emergency in the fire areas and demanded that the government act so that the people affected by the fires get the help they desperately need to survive the devastation. Boric flew over the fire areas on Saturday.
Vina living in the beach town of del Mar Rosana Avendano told news agency AFP that his family lost everything in the fires.
Avendano almost lost his spouse as well. She said that her husband had been resting when he suddenly felt the heat and ran away from the house. Avendano was finally able to connect with her husband.
The botanical garden in Vina del Mar was also destroyed in a wildfire. It lives near it Lilian Rojas told the news agency that all the houses in the area were destroyed.
President Boric said in his press conference that it is the worst natural disaster to hit the country since the 2010 earthquake and tsunami that killed around 500 people.
“We know that the number of victims will rise significantly,” Boric said about wildfires over the weekend.
About 1,400 fire personnel and 1,300 military personnel and volunteers are putting out the fires. 31 helicopters and airplanes are also helping with extinguishing operations.
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