VINA DEL MAR, Feb 4: Wildfires blazing across Chile have killed at least 51 people, leaving bodies in the street and homes gutted, with flames continuing to spread on Sunday and the toll expected to rise.
President Gabriel Boric has decreed a state of emergency in the central and southern parts of the country "due to catastrophe," as dry conditions and temperatures soaring to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) exacerbated the crisis.
Dense gray smoke blanketed the city of Vina del Mar of the Valparaiso tourist region, along central Chiles coastline, forcing residents to flee.
Rosana Avendano, a 63-year-old kitchen assistant, was away from home when the fire began to sweep through El Olivar, an area of Vina del Mar, where she lives with her husband.
"It was terrible because I couldn get (to my house). The fire came here... we lost everything," Avendano told AFP. —AFP
