SANTIAGO (Web Desk) – Atleast 11 people were killed amid rescue operations to curtail widespread fire that Ravaged Chile, it has been learnt.
According to the details, a chain of wildfires has unleashed a catastrophe over wide strip of central and southern Chile destroying thousands of homes and covering an area about three times the size of New York City.
President Michelle Bachelet, who had declared a state of emergency said that the country never saw anything on this scale in history.
‘The truth is that the forces are doing everything humanly possible and will continue until they can contain and control the fires.’ she said.
The president opined that she was mulling over meeting intelligence heads of police and armed forces although the initial cause for the tragedy was still unknown.
According to the rough estimates done last week, the fire engulfed 680,000 acres of land and still there seems no solution to put a stop to it despite constant rescue operations.
The blazes began nearly two weeks ago and what makes the situation more miserable is the fact that Chile is already braving drought in the area.
The US Embassy in Chile said this week that US Agency for International Development was donating $100,000 USD to the nongovernmental organisation Caritas Chile for the purchase and delivery of firefighting equipment.
The government deployed some 5,000 firefighters assisted by countless locals desperate to save their homes and livestock however, according to latest reports, the fire was still challenging the manpower.
High temperatures of more than 35 degrees Celsius and strong winds were hindering attempts to douse flames.
