Chile declares national mourning period as fires death toll rises to almost 100
Santiago, CHILE (EFE/AP) – Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared two days of national mourning on Sunday as at least 99 people have died in the devastating fires that are consuming the Valparaiso region.
On Sunday, firefighters grappled with extensive forest fires that erupted in central Chile two days earlier. Authorities extended curfews in cities most impacted by the fires, revealing that at least 112 individuals had lost their lives.
The Legal Medical Service (SML) “has taken in a total of 99 people; 32 of them identified,” the organization said, updating an earlier death toll of 64.
Boric said the disaster “is the greatest tragedy we have experienced as a country since the earthquake of Feb. 27, 2010.”
“I have declared two days of national mourning, starting tomorrow, Monday, because it is the whole of Chile that suffers and mourns our dead.”
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In Quilpué, a town that has been hard hit by the flames, Boric pointed out that “one of the most urgent problems is the recovery of the bodies of the victims.”
A registry of the municipality of Viña del Mar, another city hit hard by the fires, estimates that there are more than 370 people missing, which does not imply that all of them are dead but does give an idea of the magnitude of the catastrophe.
According to the latest report from the National Forestry Corporation, there are at least seven fires currently burning in Valparaiso, the largest in the Peñuelas/Las Tablas Lake Reserve, next to the main highway, which has already razed almost 9,300 hectares.
This fire, along with the one in Lo Moscoso, which has burned 1,350 hectares, is of particular concern due to its virulence and proximity to densely populated areas.
The authorities set a curfew from 6 pm local time (21:00 GMT) in the sectors that have not yet been evacuated from the towns of Quilpué, Villa Alemana, Limache and Viña del Mar, to facilitate rescue efforts and clear evacuation routes.
It is estimated that between 3,000 and 6,000 homes have been affected by the fires, and the Ministry of Health has issued an alert in the area.
Authorities are hoping that the slight drop in temperature and increase in humidity on Sunday will help control the active outbreaks and allow rescue services to enter the most devastated areas.
Because of the simultaneity of the fires and the locations of where they started, authorities believe that several may have been intentionally set.
“It is hard to believe that there could be such wretched and heartless people capable of causing so much death and pain, but if these people exist, we will look for them, we will find them, and they will face not only the rejection of the entire society but also the full weight of the law,” Boric added.
Authorities urged residents in fire-affected areas to evacuate swiftly, while those in regions farther from the blazes were advised to remain indoors to ease the movement of emergency vehicles.
Curfews were imposed in Viña del Mar and nearby cities like Quilpé and Villa Alemana to deter looting incidents.
The wildfires ignited during a week marked by exceptionally high temperatures in central Chile. Over the preceding two months, the El Niño weather phenomenon induced droughts and soaring temperatures across western South America, heightening the forest fire threat.