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Joy Pillai
Joy Pillai is a Senior Journalist at India.Com (Zee news), where he is dedicated to sculpting interesting financial stories and trending stories. With a keen eye on Indian politics and world affairs h ... Read More
Santiago: At least 46 people were killed as forest fire that is blazing across Chile has entered in densely populated areas. Several homes have been destroyed as flames continued to spread. In view of the critical situation, President Gabriel Boric on Saturday declared a state of emergency in the central and southern parts of the country. “There are 40 people who were killed in the fire, and another six (who died) as a result of burns,” President Boric said, after conducting an ariel survey of the affected region on Saturday afternoon.
“We know that these (numbers) will increase,” he added.
Dense grey smoke has blanketed the Valparaiso tourist region and central Chile’s coastline, forcing people to flee their homes. Authorities imposed a curfew on Saturday to allow emergency supplies into the affected areas and also issued new evacuation orders, however, it remained unclear exactly how many people have been instructed to leave, AFP reported.
On Saturday, Chile Interior Minister Carolina Toha informed that there had been 92 wildfires, with 106,000 acres burned across the country. Firefighters are trying their best to control or douse the furious flames. 40 forest fires had been brought under control, Toha said.
In Vina del Mar, several houses were burned out overnight, as people who had evacuated returned to find their homes destroyed. Some of the dead were seen lying in the road, covered by sheets, AFP reported.
Firefighters and emergency services are battling to control the flames in the central and south of Chile, including Biobio, La Araucania, O’Higgins, Maule, and Los Lagos.
On Friday, authorities closed the road linking Valparaiso to the capital Santiago, as a huge mushroom cloud of smoke “reduced visibility.”
The wildfires in Chile are fuelled by a summer heatwave and drought impacting the southern region of South America, caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon. Scientists caution that a warming planet heightens the risk of natural disasters, including intense heat and fires.
Notably, Chile and Colombia are battling the rising temperatures, the heatwave is also haunting Paraguay and Brazil.
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