At least 51 people have died as a result of wildfires raging over Chile, leaving bodies in the streets and destroyed homes. As of Sunday, the number of fatalities is predicted to grow.
A state of emergency has been proclaimed in the central and southern regions of the nation “due to catastrophe,” as the problem has been made worse by dry weather and temperatures as high as 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
The citizens of Vina del Mar, a city in the Valparaiso tourism sector in central Chile, were forced to evacuate when dense gray smoke engulfed their city.
Rosana Avendano, a 63-year-old kitchen assistant, was away from home when the fire began to sweep through El Olivar, an area of Vina del Mar, where she lives with her husband.
“It was terrible because I couldn’t get (to my house). The fire came here… we lost everything,” Avendano told AFP.
“My husband was lying down and began to feel the heat of the fire coming and he ran away.”
She feared the worst for hours, but eventually was able to contact her spouse.
The death toll rose to 51 on Saturday as firefighters battled to control the flames. The forensic medical service had previously reported 45 deaths, but “there are six more people who died in health care facilities,” according to interior under-secretary Manuel Monsalve.
Boric said the number of victims would increase, pledging government support to help people get back on their feet.
A curfew was implemented by the authorities starting at 9:00 p.m. on Saturday (0000 GMT on Sunday) to enable the delivery of emergency supplies, particularly fuel, to the impacted communities.
There were fresh orders for evacuation, but it was still unknown how many individuals had been ordered to leave.
Interior Minister Carolina Toha reported earlier on Saturday that as of midday, there were 92 fires nationwide, resulting in the burning of 43,000 hectares (106,000 acres). By afternoon, firefighters were still fighting 29 of the fires, while 40 had been contained.
AFP correspondents witnessed entire blocks of houses burned down overnight in the hillsides surrounding Vina del Mar, a coastal community. Thousands of people who had earlier evacuated returned to discover their homes destroyed.
Some of the deceased were visible lying beneath sheets on the road. During the summer, the region, which is 1.5 hours northwest of Santiago, the capital, is a well-liked travel destination. The country’s wine, lumber, and agricultural sectors all depend on the coastline region.
Almost thirty homes were destroyed by the flames in the communities of Estrella and Navidad, southwest of the city, forcing residents to evacuate close to Pichilemu, a popular surfing destination.
“It’s very distressing, because we’ve evacuated the house but we can’t move forward,” said 63-year-old Yvonne Guzman, who fled her home in Quilpue with her elderly mother, only to be trapped in traffic for hours.
“There are all these people trying to get out and who can’t move,” she told AFP.
Vina del Mar Mayor Macarena Ripamonti said, “We’re facing an unprecedented catastrophe, a situation of this magnitude has never happened in the Valparaiso region.”
