At least 19 dead in several fires recorded in central Chile

At least 19 people died in multiple fires recorded simultaneously on Friday night in the region of Valparaiso100 kilometers east of Santiagoand it is not ruled out that the number of victims will increase as the hours pass, Chilean authorities reported this Saturday.

“The fatality report is very provisional. The fatal victims we confirmed are all from the same sector, Vila Independênciain the Achupallas sector (…) So far, 19 people have died.of which there are 15 identified“, said the Minister of the Interior at a press conference, Carolina Tohá.

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Tohá indicated that there are “reports in other places where there is clues of what could be more people deadbut there is no confirmation on the ground.”

The fire, which is still not under control, has so far destroyed a thousand homes in several cities in the region, where the president Gabriel Boric declared a state of emergency due to the catastrophe in order to mobilize the necessary resources to face the emergency.

“We will have all technical and human resources to combat the forest fires because the priority is always the safety of families. We won’t leave you alone!published the president, who will fly over the region at noon on Saturday, on his X account.

Authorities have declared a curfew for this Saturday, from 8am (11am GMT), local time, until noon, in several cities in the region to speed up the arrival of emergency services and prevent unnecessary travelA measure that “worked” and could be repeated during the night, informed Tohá.

“Between yesterday and today we went from 30 thousand to 43,000 hectares burned”, highlighted Tohá, who did not rule out that several of the fires were intentional and acknowledged that he was especially concerned about the fires in Las Tablas, with at least 6,800 hectares burned, and Lo Moscoso, with 1,150 hectares.

Among the most affected sectors are the cities of Quilpue It is German Village and sectors such as El Olivar, Achupallas or Canal de Chacaolocated in densely populated hills surrounding the coastal city of Viña del Mar.

“We are facing a complex and critical situation,” recognized the regional governor, Rodrigo Mundaca.

The fires coincide with one of the most intense heat waves in recent years, with temperatures reaching 38 degrees in the central area.

The national director of Senapred, Álvaro Hormazabalwarned that “Conditions will be very similar to yesterday and it is possible that at noon the flames will rise again as strong gusts of wind are expected.”

Pepper last year experienced a wave of fires deadliest in its history, which left 27 dead and thousands of homes destroyed in regions of the center-south of the country, such as La Araucanía, Biobío and Ñuble.

Although Pepper has experienced one of the wettest winters in the last 15 years, experts have been warning for months that the drought has not been eradicated and that there is a high probability that thin, dead vegetation will develop in the central-south area, which is easily accessible. .

Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.