At least 99 people have already died in the forest fires in central Chile. The authorities reported this on Sunday.
Of the fatalities, 32 have not yet been identified. Chilean President Gabriel Boric previously spoke of 64 deaths.
According to authorities, there were 159 fires in Chile on Sunday, covering an area of almost 28,000 hectares. Thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed. Curfews have been imposed in some places to facilitate the work of rescue workers.
A state of emergency is in force in the country. President Boric announced this to mobilize all necessary resources. The defense ministry also said it would now deploy more military units.
Chile is currently hit by a heat wave and drought, caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon. These cause forest fires, which are further exacerbated by global warming. After Chile and Colombia, the heat wave will also threaten Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil in the coming days.
