The curfew is valid for 12 hours starting at 20 local time.

In addition, emergency permits have been issued in several cities, which means that the authorities can limit residents' freedom of movement and freedom of assembly.

According to BBC data, eight people have died in two fires, one in a grocery store and one in a textile factory. The circumstances surrounding the other deaths are unclear.

The protests began with demonstrations at higher prices in public transport, but have since then been plagued by looting and widespread destruction. Only one of six metro lines works after the rattles.

Conservative President Sebastián Piñera has responded by deploying the military, which is sensitive because of the memory of the military dictatorship in the 1970s and 1980s.

Former President Michelle Bachelet, now the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, on Monday demanded independent investigations to investigate the deaths.