The forest fires in Chile

The bus driver drove through the flames: "Terrible" 

Around 30 people were on board Cristian Silva's bus when flames from the Chilean forest fires suddenly engulfed trees on the side of the road. Although the bus driver was terrified, he had to keep calm and continue the journey towards Horcón in Valparaiso, he tells 24 horas.  

 

He describes the situation as a movie, and says that he could not see anything through the smoke from the fires.  

 

- It was terrible, you feel yourself sweating, I shouted at them to close the windows to prevent burning ash from entering, says Christan Silva.  

 

A few minutes later, the terror-filled minutes were over. Neither he nor any bus passenger was injured. At least 51 people have died as a result of the severe forest fires raging in central Chile since Friday. 

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Rodrigo escaped the fires: Hell - raining ash  

 

Rodrigo Pulgar was at home listening to the news when the wildfires descended on his village of El Olivar in Chile, just outside the hard-hit coastal city of Viña del Mar. The 61-year-old tells AFP how he tried in vain to save his neighbor when his own house caught fire. 

 

- It was hell. Ash rained down on us. My neighbor died, we didn't manage to get her out, says Pulgar.  

 

Anna Karina was at work a few kilometers from home when she heard that the fires had reached El Olivar. Panicked, she returned home to her 14-year-old son, who was home alone with the family dog.  

 

- The only thing I could think was that my son was dead, that he had burned inside, says Anna Karina.  

 

When she got home, she was met by several neighboring houses in flames, but both the son and the dog were safe.  

 

At least 51 people have been confirmed dead in the forest fires raging in Chile.

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51 dead in forest fires in Chile: "Historically difficult"  

 

At least 51 people have been confirmed dead in the forest fires raging in central Chile since Friday, writes Reuters. The death toll is expected to rise further, according to President Gabriel Boric who declared a state of disaster and curfew in the affected areas.  

 

Black smoke rises across the sky in large parts of the Valparaíso region. The mayor of the hard-hit coastal city of Viña del Mar describes the situation as historically difficult.  

 

- We are facing an unprecedented disaster, a situation of this kind has never occurred in the Valparaíso region, says Macarena Ripamonti according to TT. 

 

On Saturday, Minister of the Interior Carolina Toha stated that the fires had spread to a total area of 43,000 hectares.