Chile began two days of national mourning on Monday for at least 122 people killed by a roaring wildfire, as the search for the missing continued and survivors sorted through the burnt ruins of their lives.
“All of Chile weeps for Valparaiso,” President Gabriel Boric said Sunday as the central coastal region grappled with the weekend blaze, which has become the world’s third-deadliest wildfire this century.
Crowded hilltop districts overlooking the tourist hub were left without electricity and little water, with streets littered with burnt cars, debris, and ash.
“The most critical components of my house were rescued, but we now have no electricity, so we can’t do anything or charge our phones. Traffic is clogged with charred automobiles, and everything is destroyed,” said Patricia Guzman, 63, of the utterly destroyed Canal Chacao neighborhood.
Volunteers flocked to the hardest-hit areas to assist families, rescue pets, and give food, water, and tents.
Meanwhile, rescuers searched the rubble for further victims.
On Monday, the state forensic agency announced that the death toll had reached 122, with only 32 fatalities identified.
Boric had warned Sunday that the previous death toll of 112 may increase “significantly.”
Most of the deaths have occurred in Vina del Mar, a famous tourist destination famed for its beaches and floral gardens.
Macarena Ripamonti, the town’s mayor, told reporters on Sunday that “190 people are still missing” in the city.
‘It took only 10 minutes’
Fires erupted in the region on Friday, fuelled by winds and a scorching heatwave with temperatures hovering over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
Authorities are looking into whether they were started intentionally.
The fires are being fought by 1,400 firefighters, 1,300 military troops, and volunteers, who are assisted by 31 firefighting helicopters and planes.
On Sunday, authorities reported that approximately 40 fires were still burning, prompting evacuations in Til Til, 60 kilometers north of Santiago, and Galvarino, 400 kilometers south.
Abraham Mardones, a 24-year-old welder who left his burning home in Vina del Mar, told AFP that he narrowly avoided the fast-moving fire.
“We saw a fire on the hill ahead of us. We peered out again and saw that the fire had already spread to our house’s walls. It just took ten minutes. “The entire hill burned,” he explained.
“The fire burned everything—memories, comforts, and dwellings. Mardones told AFP that he was left with only his overalls and a pair of sneakers given to him as a present. “I could only rescue my dog.”
When he returned on Sunday, he discovered numerous neighbours had died in fires.
Friends drove by in a pickup, “carrying the burned bodies of their brother, father, and daughter.”
Dead victims in the streets
Boric, who met with fire survivors at a Vina del Mar hospital on Sunday, proclaimed a state of emergency and promised government assistance to help them get back on their feet.
According to the national disaster service SENAPRED, over 26,000 hectares (64,000 acres) have been burned in the central and southern areas as of Sunday.
Authorities have enforced a curfew, and thousands of people in the impacted districts have been ordered to leave their homes.
AFP correspondents discovered several blocks of burned-out residences on the mountains surrounding Vina del Mar.
Some of the deceased were spotted laying on the road, covered in sheets.
According to Interior Minister Carolina Toha, the weekend fires were “without a doubt” the deadliest in Chilean history.
“This was an inferno,” Rodrigo Pulgar of El Olivar told AFP. “I tried to help my neighbor…” My house was beginning to burn behind us. It rained ash.”
During his Sunday message, Pope Francis, a native of neighboring Argentina, requested prayers for the “dead and wounded in the devastating fires in Chile.”
The fires are being fueled by a summer heatwave and dryness in southern South America caused by the El Nino weather phenomena, as scientists warn that a warming world increases the danger of natural disasters like high heat and fires.