Chilean police have arrested two people suspected of deliberately starting fires in the hard-hit areas around the coastal cities of Vina del Mar and Valparaiso. This is reported by Reuters and refers to local media.
112 people have died and hundreds are still missing after the large forest fires that have ravaged the country since the weekend.
Extremely high temperatures have affected Chile and several neighboring countries, partly due to the weather phenomenon El Niño, partly due to climate change. The next few days, however, expect slightly lower temperatures than before, which can help the authorities to overcome the fires, writes the news agency.
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"Facing a tragedy of enormous proportions"
The wildfires in Chile are the biggest disaster to hit the country since the 2010 earthquake, when more than 400 people died. That's what the country's president Gabriel Boric says, according to the New York Times.
At least 112 people have died and hundreds are missing after the fires that have ravaged Chile's Pacific coast in recent days.
- We are facing a tragedy of enormous proportions, says President Boric during a visit to the affected areas.
The president has declared two days of national mourning and says the top priority is to collect the victims' bodies.
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The death toll continues to rise in Chile – at least 112 dead
At least 112 people have died in the forest fires in Chile, the local authorities announced on Monday morning according to AFP.
Earlier, it was reported that over 43,000 hectares had burned and that entire residential areas had been engulfed by the flames.
- Not a single house remains, says 67-year-old Lilian Rojas, who lives in Vina del Mar.
TT writes that the fires are fueled by a severe drought and heat wave that has partly arisen due to the weather phenomenon El Niño and partly due to climate change.
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