At least 112 killed as bushfires tear through ‘like a bomb’

Some of the victims were discovered lying on public roads, having been overcome by fumes. Several have died from severe burns.

Many city blocks were destroyed by the bushfire that ripped through Quilpue, in the Valparaiso region. Picture: AFP

At least 112 people have been killed by forest fires in Chile and more casualties are expected in what the government has declared a state of emergency.

The central region of Valparaiso has been the worst affected, ­especially the coastal tourist city of Vina del Mar. Firefighters in helicopters have struggled to reach many areas that have been blanketed by black smoke.

“Not a single house was left here,” retiree Lilian Rojas, 67, told of her neighbourhood near the Vina del Mar botanic garden, which was also destroyed in the flames.

Interior ministry Undersecretary Manuel Monsalve said the medical examiner had received “112 people dead, 32 bodies identified”, adding that there were still “40 active fires” in the country.

Some of the victims were discovered lying on public roads, having been overcome by fumes. Several have died from severe burns.

There are reports of older residents being unable to escape from hillside communities before the fires ripped through the region.

President Gabriel Boric was travelled to Valparaiso on Sunday to assess the damage and said the disaster was “a very difficult ­moment” for the entire country.

Officials said at least 1100 homes had been destroyed. Residents have described the destruction as like the aftermath of a bomb.

“If you are told to evacuate, don’t hesitate to do it,” the President said in a televised address.

“The fires are advancing fast and climatic conditions have made them difficult to control. There are high temperatures, strong winds and low humidity.”

He also warned that the death toll would go up “significantly”.

Mr Boric ordered that temporary field hospitals be established in the crisis zone. A curfew has also been established in the most severely affected towns.

Interior Minister Carolina Toha said on Saturday that 92 ­forest fires were burning in the centre and south of the country, where temperatures have been unusually high for several days. An area of about 43,000ha has been affected, and 1400 firefighters were being deployed.

The government has called on Chileans to avoid any travel to the regions affected by fire.

In Valparaiso, the mayor said 372 residents had been reported missing.

Many people were visiting the city for their summer holidays ­before carnival celebrations later this month.

Rosana Avendano, a 63-year-old kitchen assistant, was away from home when the fire began to sweep through Vina del Mar. “It was terrible because I couldn’t get (to my house). The fire came here … we lost everything,” she said. “My husband was lying down and began to feel the heat of the fire coming and he ran away.”

The El Nino weather phenomenon has helped push temperatures to record highs in South America in recent months, with scientists saying man-made climate change was also making heatwaves fires and extreme weather more likely across the world.

One man, a welder, has been detained in connection to the fires.

He reportedly was working at his home in central Chile when he accidentally started a fire that spread to dry shrubland nearby.

The Times