At least 11 dead in Chile blaze
AFP
Miguel Sanchez April 14, 2014, 1:15 am
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At least eleven people have died in a huge fire in Chile's port city of Valparaiso famous for its UNESCO-listed historic centre.
The blaze, which started in woodland near the city on Saturday, has destroyed 500 homes and forced the evacuation of more than 5000. Its cause is being investigated.
"So far, there are at least 11 fatalities from the fire," police official Colonel Fernando Bywaters told Radio Cooperativa on Sunday.
The death toll was announced as President Michelle Bachelet arrived in the hard-hit city, 120 kilometres west of the capital Santiago, to co-ordinate the emergency response after declaring it a disaster zone.
"This is the worst catastrophe Valparaiso has ever seen," regional administrator Ricardo Bravo told reporters.
The military has taken over security in the popular tourist hub, located on the Pacific coast with a population of 270,000.
At dawn, pockets of fire were still active and firefighters warned that extinguishing them was complicated by the area's hilly geography, narrow streets and persistent strong winds.
Overnight, many residents watched helpless, from distant vantage points, as the hills burned bright red. Thick smoke clouded the sky.
Hundreds of firemen were hopelessly outmatched in their battle to limit the blaze. They were forced to retreat time and again as flames reduced homes to cinders, a wall of red towering above them.
Early in the morning, massive tongues of flames advanced down the slopes of the city towards its port and heritage-listed centre, driven by strong winds.
More than 200 inmates at a women's prison were evacuated due to "large amounts of smoke produced by the fire," said Tulio Arce, regional prison guard director.
With the city spread out over more than 40 hills, emergency vehicles had trouble getting to their destinations.
The vast blaze has caused cuts to power and drinking water in many areas.
