A resident tries to put out a fire that has engulfed parts of rural areas from a wildfire in Santa Juana, near Concepcion, Chile, on February 3, 2023. Photo Credit: Reuters
At least 13 people were reported dead as of Friday night as a result of more than 150 wildfires raging across Chile that destroyed homes and thousands of acres of forest, while the South American country braced for a scorching heat wave. is in the middle.
The four deaths occurred in two separate vehicles in the Biobio region, about 560 kilometers (348 miles) south of the capital Santiago.
“In one case they got burned because they got caught in the fire,” said Interior Minister Carolina Toha. In the second case, she said, the victims died in accidents, “probably trying to escape the fire.”
The fifth victim was a firefighter who was crushed to death by a fire truck while battling a fire in the area.
Later in the afternoon, a helicopter that was helping to combat the flames crashed in the Araucanía region, killing the pilot, a Bolivian national, and a mechanic who was Chilean.
Overnight, the national agency responsible for emergencies raised the death toll to 13 without giving details on the latest deaths.
As of Friday afternoon, 151 wildfires were burning across Chile, with 65 declared under control. The fire had spread to more than 14,000 hectares (34,595 acres).
Most of the wildfires are in Biobio and neighboring Nubal, where the government has declared a state of catastrophe that allows for greater coordination with the military and the suspension of some constitutional rights.
The heat wave in Chile is set to continue with high temperatures and strong winds that could make fighting wildfires more challenging.
President Gabriel Boric on Friday suspended a vacation to visit the affected areas and said there was “evidence” that some of the forest fires were caused by unauthorized burning.
“First, the full force of the state will be deployed to fight the fire and support all victims,” said Mr. Boric.
It is not clear how many homes and other structures have been burned.
“Families are going through a very difficult time,” Ivonne Rivas, the mayor of Tomé in Biobio, told local radio. “This is the hell they’re living through, the fire turned away from us.”
The wildfire caused the suspension of a highly anticipated announcement by forensic experts that was expected to reveal the cause of death of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Experts stood ready to give their perspective on whether Mr. Neruda died of complications from prostate cancer or whether he was poisoned, potentially solving one of Chile’s great mysteries after the coup.
A spokesman for the country’s judiciary said the doctor who delivered the report’s findings was unable to connect to the internet because he was in an area affected by wildfires.