Hundreds of people are still missing in fire-ravaged Chile, authorities say, raising fears that the death toll will continue to rise from the 123 officially identified as more bodies are found on hillsides and in houses destroyed by the fires. President Gabriel Boric warned that the country was facing a “tragedy of very large proportions”.
The fires that intensified on Friday are now threatening the outer fringes of Viña del Mar and Valparaiso, two coastal towns popular with tourists. The urban sprawl of these cities represents more than a million residents west of the capital Santiago.
Reuters drone footage shows entire neighborhoods burned in the Viña del Mar region, with residents searching among burnt-out houses whose corrugated iron roofs have collapsed.
“The wind was terrible, the heat scorching. There was no breath. People were scattered everywhere,” said Pedro Quesada, a builder in the Valparaiso area, standing among the charred wreckage of his destroyed home.
Videos shared on social media showed hillside fires burning near apartment buildings in the Valparaiso area, spewing smoke into the air. Dense fog blanketed other urban areas, with limited visibility.
The Chilean authorities have imposed a curfew at 9 p.m. curfews were imposed in the worst-hit areas and the army was sent to help firefighters contain the blazes, while helicopters dropped water to try to extinguish the flames from the air.
Chile’s Forensic Service said 123 people had died in the fires by Monday night, up from 51 on Saturday.
Source: Reuters, TVN