Chile authorities in battle against deadly wildfires

At least seven people have died as a result of hundreds of wildfires burning across Chile that have destroyed homes and thousands of acres of forest in the midst of a scorching heat wave. Four of the deaths took place in the Biobío region, south of the capital of Santiago. The fifth victim was a firefighter who was run over by a fire truck while combating a blaze in the area.

Later in the afternoon, a helicopter that was helping combat the flames crashed in the Araucanía region, killing the pilot, a Bolivian national, and a mechanic, who was Chilean. President Gabriel Boric called for residents to prevent fires instead of leaving the firefighters the hard task to extinguish them.

Fires are advancing in the midst of a heat wave that on Friday exceeded 42 degrees Celsius and strong winds conditions that were expected to continue in the coming days. Some 14,000 hectares have been ravaged by the flames, which also destroyed an unknown number of homes and businesses in nearby towns. The National Forestry Corporation reported that Argentine and Brazilian firefighters were expected to arrive on Monday to join the efforts with tanker airplanes.