Due to the multiple fires in Chile, there were this Friday at least seven dead Hay 191 active outbreaks in the south-central zone. The Government declared a state of catastrophe. Five of the victims lost their lives in the town of Santa Juana, in the Biobío region.
The Chilean Minister of the Interior, Carolina Tohá, explained that two of these people died following being hit by the flames when they were traveling along a road and added that two others died from a traffic accident “probably trying to escape the fire.”
The fifth victim, also in Santa Juana, was a volunteer from the fire department of that town.
Las two remaining died when a helicopter they were piloting fell and that he was participating in fighting the fires, the AFP news agency reported.
The aircraft, which had been contracted by the National Forestry Corporation (Conaf), crashed in the Galvarino sector, in the La Araucanía region.
“Very saddened by the helicopter accident in which the pilot and mechanic who worked fighting the fire in the Galvarino commune in La Araucanía died,” the Chilean Minister of Agriculture, Esteban Valenzuela, wrote on his Twitter account.
According to the balance of the authorities, regarding 200 fires have destroyed more than 40,000 hectares, left 107 homes with some type of damage, nine injured and 12 homeless. Of the 191 active fires, 45 are out of control.
The situation brings to mind the catastrophe that took place in that area at the beginning of 2017.
Then there was a mega forest fire that left 11 dead, some 6,000 homeless, more than 1,500 homes destroyed and 467,000 hectares affected.
As in that year, the sources of fires began in agricultural areas and in forests, and advanced to threaten and affect populated areas.
Even traffic on one of the main highways that connects the city of Concepción (510 km south of Santiago) had to be restricted since Thursday due to the proximity of the fire.
One of the epicenters of the tragedy is the town of Santa Juana, 52 km south of Concepción.
The Chilean government declared a state of catastrophe on Friday in the Ñuble and Biobío (center-south) regions. The sources of accidents also affect the regions of Maule and La Araucanía.
President Gabriel Boric decided to suspend his vacations and arrived today as far as Biobío and Ñuble.
“We are going to be carrying out patrols throughout the area. The most important thing now is to put out the fires. The State is deployed for that,” Boric said.
“We are not going to leave you alone” It was the most repeated phrase of the president, added AFP.
Regarding the origin of the forest fires, the president announced that “there are indications that some were caused by unauthorized burning,” adding that “there is no authorization to burn garbage, or agricultural waste, or anything.”
Boric, who suspended his vacations to visit the affected areas, called on people to prevent any event that might lead to a future fire and stated that “once the emergency is put out, we will take charge and accompany the communities and the victims”.
“The Armed Forces and Carabineros are going to be patrolling and carrying out preventive patrols throughout the area,” added the head of state.
Chile declared a state of catastrophe
The declaration of the state of catastrophe, a state of constitutional exception, allows measures such as the provision of additional resources to control the emergency and go to the aid of those affected, as well as restrict the use of military forces in this emergency situation.
The fires break out in the middle of a wave of extreme heat with records above 41ºC and in the midst of a severe and prolonged drought.
In this context, the Prosecutor’s Office announced the arrest of two people linked to the generation of fires in the Biobío and La Araucanía regions.
75 aircraft and more than 2,300 brigade members are working in the fight once morest the fire, while Minister Tohá announced the hiring of another 10 aircraft and was considering leasing more aircraft abroad.
_ With information from Telam
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