Santiago, Feb. 4 (BNA): At least 13 people were reported dead as of Friday night as more than 150 fires raged across Chile, destroying homes and thousands of acres of forest as the South American country was in the midst of a scorching heat wave.
The Associated Press reported that four of the deaths involved two separate vehicles in Biobio district, about 560 kilometers (348 miles) south of the capital, Santiago.
“In one case they were burned because they were hit by fire,” said Interior Minister Carolina Tuha. In the other case, she said, the victims died in a crash, “perhaps trying to escape from the fire.”
The fifth victim was a firefighter who was run over by a fire engine while putting out a fire in the area.
Later in the afternoon, a helicopter helping to fight the fire crashed in Araucanía, killing the pilot, a Bolivian national, and the mechanic, a Chilean.
As night fell, the national agency in charge of emergencies raised the death toll to 13 without giving details of the latest fatalities.
As of midday Friday, 151 fires were burning across Chile, including 65 declared to be under control. More than 14,000 hectares (34,595 acres) are on fire.
Most of the wildfires are in Biobío and neighboring Ñuble, where the government has declared states of disaster allowing for more coordination with the military and the suspension of some constitutional rights.
The heat wave to hit Chile is set to continue with soaring temperatures and strong winds that could make wildfires more difficult.
President Gabriel Borik suspended his leave to travel to the affected areas on Friday and said there was “evidence” that some of the forest fires were started by unauthorized burning.
“The full force of the state will be deployed, first of all, to fight the fires and escort all the victims,” Borik said.
It was not clear how many homes and other buildings were burned.
“Families are having a very difficult time,” Yvonne Rivas, Mayor of Tomei in BioBio, told local radio. “It’s the hell they live in, the fire has moved away from us.”
Forest fires have put a highly anticipated announcement on hold by forensic experts who were expected to state the cause of death of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Experts were to present their view of whether Neruda died of complications from prostate cancer or whether he was poisoned, potentially solving one of Chile’s biggest post-coup mysteries.
A spokesperson for the country’s judiciary said the doctor in charge of providing the report’s findings was unable to connect to the internet because he was in an area affected by the bushfires.
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