Chile: at least 51 dead cause the country’s deadliest forest fires in a decade

At least 51 people have died due to the forest fires that have relentlessly ravaged the tourist region of Valparaíso (center) since Friday, in the deadliest tragedy it has ever faced. Pepper over the past decade, according to authorities. The number of victims continued to rise this Saturday amid firefighters’ efforts to control the flames. The legal medical service had already registered 45 deaths, but “there are six more people who died in health units”, informed the Undersecretary of the Interior, Manuel Monsalve.

Rosana Avendaño, a 63-year-old kitchen assistant, was outside her home when the fire began to devastate El Olivar, one of the sectors of Viña del Mar, where she lives with her husband and pet.

LOOK: Government of Chile: “Fires in Valparaíso are the biggest tragedy since the 2010 earthquake”

“It was terrible because I couldn’t get (to my house). The fire came here (…) we lost everything. “My husband was lying down and started to feel the heat of the coming fire and ran away,” the woman told AFP.

Avendaño had no contact with him until this Saturday, but for hours he feared the worst. In the end, his pet was also saved from the flames.

In addition to human losses, there are between 3,000 and 6,000 homes affected by the deadliest forest fires in the last decade, according to the undersecretary.

From the La Moneda palace in Santiago, the president Gabriel Boric He anticipated that the number of victims will “increase” given the “dimension” that “the tragedy” is taking, which also leaves 43 thousand hectares burned.

In the Villa Independencia sector alone, in Viña del Mar, “19 people died (…), all the bodies were removed”, said previously the Minister of the Interior, Carolina Tohá.

In the afternoon the fire was reactivated again in Valparaíso. A dense cloud of smoke once again rose over this area where high temperatures persist in the middle of the southern summer.

Authorities imposed a nighttime curfew in Viña del Mar and three other cities from 9pm local time (0000 GMT) and issued new evacuation alerts, although the number of people who were forced to flee their homes was not known. houses. .houses.

In total, 92 fires were recorded, 40 of which have already been controlled and 29 fires are still active and are trying to be put out by firefighters with the support of helicopters and planes.

Fire between hills and sea

The most affected areas are near the Pacific beaches, 80 and 120 km northwest of Santiago, where wine, agricultural and logging companies operate.

During this season it also receives a large number of tourists.

Strong winds drag the flames to transport, painting and furniture factories. Black smoke covers the sky along several streets amid successive explosions, to the helplessness of firefighters, according to an AFP team.

As a result of the emergency, President Boric declared a state of emergency due to a catastrophe on Friday, in order to have “all the necessary resources” to put out the flames.

In December 2022, the same region of Valparaíso suffered serious forest fires that left two dead. Fire – which is usually set intentionally – spreads quickly due to construction in unauthorized areas.

Boric said authorities are “investigating the possible intentionality” of the current fire.

Last year, fires ravaged southern Chile, leaving 27 people dead and 450,000 hectares destroyed.

“Unprecedented”

The mayor of Viña del Mar, Macarena Ripamonti, was surprised by the magnitude of the fires.

“We are facing an unprecedented catastrophe, a situation of this magnitude has never happened in the Valparaíso region,” he noted.

Routes to these Pacific beaches were closed after noon on Friday, and several fires expanded very quickly, burning populated areas, where alternative routes for thousands of people trying to evacuate collapsed.

According to a report from the National Forestry Corporation (Conaf), the biggest fire is in the Lago Peñuelas Reserve, close to the main highway to the region, which burned more than 8 thousand hectares.

A heat wave with maximum temperatures is currently ravaging the South American Cone, where the natural climate phenomenon of El Niño is worsened by global warming caused by human activity, according to experts.

Persistent sweltering heat warnings are in effect starting this week and next in areas of Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil, as well as Chile.

Source: Elcomercio

jack

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.