The death toll from the wildfires in Chile has already risen to 64. Hundreds of people are still missing. A two-day mourning period has been declared in Chile since February 5. This was announced by President Gabriel Borich, Reuters reports, according to UNN.
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Fires in central Chile have reportedly killed at least 64 people. As the president stated, the country is facing a "tragedy of a very large scale." According to him, the death toll is likely to rise in the coming days.
"We know that this number will grow, it will grow significantly," Boric said in a televised address to the nation.
Wildfires that started a few days ago threaten the neighborhoods of Viña del Mar and Valparaiso, two coastal cities popular with tourists. These cities west of the capital Santiago are home to more than a million people.
The Chilean authorities imposed a curfew from 21:00 in the most affected areas and sent the military to help firefighters stop the spread of the fire, while helicopters dropped water to try to extinguish the flames from the air.
Hundreds of people are also reported missing, authorities said. More than 1,000 homes have been damaged. On Saturday, officials said more than 90 fires were raging across Chile.
A two-day national mourning period has been declared in the country since Monday.
Earlier UNN reported about 51 people killed by forest fires in Chile.