Chile extends emergency as forest fires kill 23 people

In Chile, at least 23 people were killed in devastating forest fires which occurred following a blistering heat wave in the central part of the country. A senior official said, the state of emergency has been extended in the South American country. The orders allow for the deployment of soldiers and additional resources to deal with the natural disaster. According to an official briefing on Saturday at least 979 people have been affected following the calamity. As per information, some 11 of the victims, or nearly half of those reported killed so far, died in the town of Santa Juana in Biobio, located some 500km south of Santiago.

The deaths also included a Bolivian pilot who died when a helicopter that was helping combat the flames crashed in Araucania. A Chilean mechanic also died in the crash. “Weather conditions have made it very difficult to put out [the fires] that are spreading and the emergency is getting worse,” Interior Minister Carolina Toha told reporters at a news conference in the Chilean capital, Santiago. “We need to reverse that curve,” she added. Some 232 wildfires were still active on Saturday, according to authorities, including 16 that sparked to life earlier in the day, as local temperatures in the southern hemisphere summer exceeded 40C (104F). Chile’s disaster mitigation agency said 151 of the fires were now under control, while official data released late Friday showed that some 40,000 hectares (99,000 acres) have been burned by the fires.