At least 23 people have been killed and hundreds injured in deadly wildfires in Chile

At least 23 people were killed and nearly a thousand others were injured when hundreds of wildfires swept through south-central Chile over the weekend.

The deadly fires broke out amid a sweltering heatwave in the region, a senior government official said late Saturday night.

“We want to mourn the death of 23 people,” said Deputy Interior Minister Manuel Monsalve, adding that 979 people were injured in the fires.

Monsalve said 232 wildfires were still active Saturday, including 16 that started earlier in the day.

The government of President Gabriel Boric extended a state of disaster to the southern Araucanía region. Nuble and Biobio were already under disaster rating.

The move allows Borik to mobilize the army to help fight the fires as the death toll continues to rise.

Temperatures soared to 40 °C (104 °F), hampering efforts to contain the fires, many of which were out of control.

Boric, who has put a holiday on hold to head to the city of Concepcion, 510 kilometers (320 miles) south of the capital, Santiago, tweeted that he would continue to work “to combat wildfires and help families.”

Boric said Argentina had offered to send firefighters and equipment.

Blame climate change

Interior Minister Carolina Toha said Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico and Spain had also offered help.

“We have become one of (the countries) most vulnerable to fires, mainly due to the development of climate change,” Tuha said.

She said fire conditions that seemed severe just three years ago were becoming more common by the year.

The authorities said earlier that 10 of the dead were in the town of Santa Joana, in the province of Concepción.

Officials added that the fires destroyed at least 88 homes and ravaged 47,000 hectares (116,000 acres) of forest.

Santa Juana Mayor Ana Bornoz said the fires hit the town hard because “the terrain is rough and the roads are bad.”

“Our population is very small, with one person living on one hilltop and another on another hill, while the urban area is overcrowded,” she said.

Among the dead were two crew members of a fire-fighting helicopter who were killed in a crash Friday afternoon, officials said.

One firefighter was killed and at least eight were injured while putting out the fires.

In all, 2,300 firefighters and 75 aircraft were deployed to the area.

The heat wave raised fears of a repeat of what happened in 2017, when large-scale fires in the same region left 11 people dead and 1,500 homes destroyed.

Turkey extends its condolences

Meanwhile, Turki offered his condolences to Chile for the loss of life in the deadly wildfire.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of life and injuries as a result of the wildfires that broke out in Chile,” a statement from the Foreign Ministry said.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the friendly people and government of Chile, as well as to the families of those who lost their lives, and we wish a speedy recovery for the injured.”