Chile has declared a state of disaster after a fire in Viña del Mar killed at least two people and damaged more than 400 homes.

Chile’s Undersecretary of the Interior, Manuel MonsalveIn this Friday statement, the State President, Gabriel Boricinstructed to order Disaster situation For massive fires Vina del Mar122 kilometers north-west of the capital, has been affected so far More than 400 houses. home Minister, Carolina DohaConfident Two died.

“The decree is being prepared, which indicates that the head of national security is going to be appointed with the power to control the constitutional rights, ultimately the power to assemble and transfer, but also the control, the power to take all the requests. The necessary supplies to face the emergency”, explained the authority from the Valparaiso region.

“There was a very quick response to the start of this fire, but despite this, due to the location, weather, wind and presence of combustible materials, Spreads very aggressively and quickly“, he added.

“We have information that it has been found A charred body; We want full and complete confirmation (…) and have information to confirm from a Second bodyAdded Monsalve. Later, 2 people were confirmed dead.

“We will not leave them alone (…) The safety of the people is our priority and we will continue to deploy all necessary resources,” the president posted on his social networks, Gabriel Boric.

So far, the Interior Ministry’s National Emergency Office (Onemi) has ordered Evacuate danger areas in the Viña del Mar mountainsA town with some camps Informal housing Largest in affected area in the country.

According to the National Institute of Forestry (Conaf) estimates, At least 110 hectares were destroyed in the fire.

The fire department informed about this There are 800 men and women Due to the weather and geographical conditions, the task of controlling the fire at night is difficult. 100 deployed units will continue to operate for the next few hours.

Director, National Academy of Forestry (CONAF). Lewis CorreaReport from the Valparaiso area Controlling a fire takes timeEven for a couple of days.

It is said that it all started in a Irregular solutionOn top of houses made of light materials that catch fire quickly, and on hills where combustible debris is often present.

From there it quickly spread to other parts of the tourist town, this time receiving vacationers from the capital Santiago and other parts of the country.

(With information from EFE and AP)

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