A state of emergency has been declared in the country due to the heat wave. Temperatures that have risen to 40 degrees have made it difficult to extinguish wildfires.
In Chile, at least 23 people have died in hundreds of wildfires, a government official said on Saturday evening.
– We want to mourn the loss of 23 people, said the Deputy Minister of the Interior Manuel Monsalve and added that nearly a thousand people had already been injured in the fires.
According to Monsalve, more than 230 active fires were fought at the same time on Saturday.
A state of emergency has been declared in the country due to the heat wave. Temperatures that have risen to 40 degrees in the central parts of the country have made it difficult to extinguish wildfires. Fires have been raging in the country since Wednesday.
President of Chile By Gabriel Boric the government has extended the state of emergency to also cover the southern region of Araucania. A state of emergency had already been declared for the Nuble and Biobio regions in the middle of the country.
A total of around 2,300 rescuers and 75 aircraft are trying to put out the fires in hot conditions. At least one rescuer is said to have died and eight were injured during the firefighting operations.
According to the president, Argentina has offered to send more rescuers and equipment to help Chile.
Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico and Spain have also offered help, Chile’s interior minister Carolina Toha said.
– We are becoming one of those (nations) that are more prone to fires, basically due to the development of climate change, Toha said.
According to the authorities, the fires have already destroyed almost 90 homes and approximately 47,000 hectares of forest.
The scorching heat wave has raised fears of a repeat of the 2017 fires. At that time, extensive fires in the same area caused the death of 11 people and destroyed 1,500 homes.
Source: AFP