At least 46 people died Chile due to fires forestry in the coastal region of Valparaiso, Chilean President Gabriel Boric said this Saturday, adding that this figure is “sure to increase” in the coming hours amid the deadliest fires in years in the southern country.

Firefighters accompanied by trucks and helicopters They fought to put out the flames in various areas of Valparaiso, home to almost a million inhabitants.

“Registered 40 people died during the fires and six more people in hospitals as a result of burns,” Borich said in an address to the nation.

“I want to be very careful with this figure because, given the conditions of the tragedy, the number of victims is sure to increase in the coming hours“he added.

The President decided state of emergency due to disaster the day before, allowing the government to move resources more quickly and speed up the delivery of aid.

Borich, 37, said the situation was “really very difficult.”

Earlier, Interior Minister Caroline Toha assured that the country there were 92 active fires29 of them are in combat and 40 are already under control, as a result of which more than 43 thousand hectares have been damaged.

Toha, flanked by other government officials, told a news conference that the area affected by the fires increased from 30,000 to 43,000 from Friday to Saturday. Driven by record heat, Last year, about 27 people died as a result of fires. and affected more than 400 thousand hectares.

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“The area affected by fires today is much smaller than last year (but) on this date the number of affected hectares is multiplying very quickly“he explained.

Toha said authorities’ biggest concern is that some of the active fires are growing very close to urban areas, “with very high potential for impact on people, houses and premises.” (RTS)