Forest fires in south-central Chile kill dozens

The Chilean government reported, this Saturday (4), that the number of people who lost their lives in the serious fires that affect the center and south of the country has risen to 22 and that there are also at least another 16 injured in a “critical” condition. .

“Right now we have a very difficult, very painful balance of 22 people who have died,” said the Minister of the Interior, Carolina Tohá, warning that the “numbers are changing by the minute” and that the situation is “very complex”.

The most affected regions are Ñuble, Biobío and La Araucanía, areas of intense agricultural and forestry activity located 400, 500 and 700 kilometers from the capital Santiago, respectively, and where the government decreed the State of Constitutional Exception of Catastrophe.

According to the latest report by the National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (Senapred) of the Ministry of the Interior, more than 45,000 hectares have been destroyed and there are currently 251 active fires across the country, of which 80 are being fought.

In addition, around 1,500 people are taking refuge in around 30 shelters and there are 554 injured, of whom at least 16 are in “very serious” condition, explained Tohá. “In the last week, the equivalent of the surface that burns in a full normal year was burned,” said the minister.

The fires coincide with a long drought lasting more than 13 years and an unprecedented heat wave in the south, with temperatures that could reach 40 degrees Celsius in the south in the next few hours.

The Meteorological Directorate reported this Saturday that the heat wave will last until next Wednesday (8) and will affect seven of the country’s 16 regions.

Boric shortens vacation to monitor situation

President Gabriel Boric, who suspended his vacations to deal with the crisis, confirmed that he asked for international help from countries like Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Spain to deal with the crisis and that he spoke with the Argentine representative, Alberto Fernández, who assured him of sending of brigade members and machinery.

The images recall the wave of fires that hit southern Chile in 2017, the most serious to date and in which a dozen people died.