China News Service, February 6 (Xinhua) According to Agence France-Presse, the Chilean authorities announced on the 5th local time that due to the heat wave sweeping through the central and southern regions, hundreds of forest fires have occurred in the country, killing 24 people and injuring 997 in five days. , 800 houses were destroyed.
According to reports, under the ravages of strong winds and high temperatures of more than 40 degrees, the fire has burned 270,000 hectares of land about 500 kilometers south of the capital Santiago.
Efforts to put out the fires, many of which are already out of control, appear to be in vain.
Chile's Deputy Interior Minister Manuel Monsalvi said that as of the 4th local time, 232 wildfires were still burning.
Several countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico and Spain, have provided aid to Chile, the Chilean government said.
Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez wrote on Twitter that Spain had sent a military plane to Chile to help the country control and fight the fire.
Sanchez said, "We fully support the Chilean people." It is reported that the plane carried 50 fire experts, soldiers and drone pilots.
Chilean Interior Minister Carolina Toja said: "Chile is becoming one of the most fire-prone (countries), the root cause of which is climate change." more and more common.
The heatwave and fires have sparked fears of a repeat of the 2017 tragedy, the report said.
Eleven people were killed, nearly 6,000 were injured and 1,500 homes were destroyed in a spate of fires in the same area that year.