Chilean Interior Minister Carolina Tohá announced on Saturday evening that there have been 51 deaths due to the wildfires that have spread to populated areas of the Valparaíso region, while the number of missing exceeds 370.
“The situation in Valparaíso is currently the most delicate: undoubtedly it was the fire that claimed the most lives and probably it will be the emergency situation following the 2010 earthquake that claimed the most victims in Chile in 2010 recently,” the minister said in statements collected by Radio Cooperativa after the last Disaster and Management Committee.
He explained that since the country’s President Gabriel Boric’s tally, when the death toll stood at 46, “there have been five more deceased whose bodies were collected on public streets, but we have a lot of background information and preliminary information.” and a still unofficial fact that makes us realize that we will reach numbers that may be much higher than those we currently know.
372 missing person reports
Meanwhile, Macarena Ripamontil, mayor of Viña del Mar, one of the municipalities hardest hit by the fires, said 372 reports of missing people had been received. “There are a lot of people who died. There are many people who have lost everything and it is dramatic. There are no political colors at the moment. There are no personal intentions. There simply has to be genuine affection from everyone for everything to turn out well.” “We will work on all sides and make ourselves available for this emergency. Therefore I ask you. There is a lot of pain in Viña del Mar right now,” he explained.
The Chilean President traveled to the Valparaíso region this Sunday “to be with the local authorities, the victims of the tragedy and, above all, to see on the ground where we need to tighten the screws to be more and more in this difficult moment to provide better support.”
Boric explained that the priority is, above all, to save lives; second, extinguish active fires; Third: recover bodies of the deceased. fourth, providing urgent support to victims in emergency shelters; Fifthly, ensuring public order with the carabineros and the armed forces, and sixthly and finally, collecting background information to investigate the origin of the fires. “We will stand up,” emphasized Boric in a message published on the social network X.
Tohá also emphasized that “the capacity of the Forensic Medical Service has been strengthened in these hours, but this must be increased tomorrow as there will likely be more demand for work.” “The PDI will support this by setting up 11 investigative teams responsible for the removal of the bodies and the initial investigation procedures at these locations,” he said.
He has also pointed out that there is currently no complete overview of victims or damaged houses or infrastructure, but “approximately we know that there are 16 affected villas, 30 percent of them are Serviu condominiums, 70 percent.” The rest There are subdivisions – many of them irregular – and camps. As for accommodation, we don’t have numbers, but we know there are thousands.”
There is “serious history” of intentionality
As other authorities point out, Tohá has stated that “there is serious evidence that the start of the most serious of these fires, that of Las Tablas, may have been deliberate. There are always rumors of this kind, but in this case the opportunity is serious backgrounds of trustworthy people.
“This is a matter of great concern because a fire that causes this devastation and loss of life, intentionally caused by others, is a social alarm of the utmost gravity,” he warned.
For this reason, he reported that the National Defense Headquarters had ordered a ban on the transport of fuel in barrels: “We have, as I said, evidence of premeditation in several of these fires and we want to make every further attempt to do so. “ Activate new ones as difficult as possible. “Spotlights”.
“Secondly, any activity that involves dealing with fire is restricted, be it the use of machinery that generates heat or sparks, or the creation of campfires in risk areas or where the fire is currently breaking out,” he added.