Already over 110 dead

Devastating forest fires continue to rage in Chile

(Bild: AFP/Javier Torres)

In Chile, where devastating forest fires continue to rage, the death toll has now risen to at least 112, but is likely to rise further. The fires have so far destroyed almost 29,000 hectares of land and reduced entire areas to ashes (see video above).

State Secretary Manuel Monsalve said at a press conference that 112 bodies have now been brought to the coroner's office. 32 bodies have already been identified. According to him, firefighters are still battling dozens of fires across the country.

State mourning announced for victims
"This is the worst tragedy our country has experienced since the earthquake in 2010", said Chilean President Gabriel Boric during a visit to the disaster area in the Valparaíso region on the Pacific coast. More than 520 people lost their lives back then. Boric announced a two-day national mourning from Monday in honor of the victims.

The devastating forest fires in Chile reduced entire regions to ashes.(Bild: AFP/Javier Torres)

For the third day in a row, 1,400 firefighters and 1,300 soldiers and volunteers battled dozens of fires in the center and south of the Latin American country on Sunday. The forestry authority registered 188 fires across the country on Sunday, covering a total area of almost 29,000 hectares.

Coastal town of Viña del Mar particularly affected
The coastal town of Viña del Mar, which is popular with tourists, has been particularly affected. Entire residential areas burned down. Thousands of houses were damaged or destroyed, more than 3,000 in the Valparaíso region alone, said Interior Minister Carolina Tohá. A fire there had spread to an area of around 11,000 hectares, she said.

President Boric warned that the death toll would rise considerably. The mayor of Viña del Mar, Macarena Ripamonti, and the governor of Valparaíso, Rodrigo Mundaca, said that several hundred people were still missing.

"People could barely escape"
"It was a huge fire, it destroyed the botanical gardens. A terrible wind came from there and set everything on fire, all the houses. People could barely escape, the water supply was cut off," said Marcelo Molina, a resident of Viña del Mar. "It happened so quickly. The wind trapped us from the botanical garden and burning branches were thrown around. My house over there is on fire," said one woman.

The coastal town of Viña del Mar, which is popular with tourists, was particularly affected. Entire residential areas burned down there.

In summer (the seasons in the southern hemisphere are shifted by half a year compared to the northern hemisphere, note), severe forest fires occur again and again in Chile. In 2023, more than 425,000 hectares of land burned down in the center and south of Chile - roughly eight times the area of Lake Constance. At least 26 people lost their lives back then.