SANTIAGO DE CHILE, 09 FEB – The Chilean president, Gabriel Boric, has announced that he has ordered the introduction of a curfew in some areas of the regions at the center of the fires of recent days, warning that for at least another 48 hours the situation will remain difficult due to a “complex climatic situation”. The head of state made his announcement, reports the newspaper La Tercera, on the occasion of a visit to Santa Juana, in the Biobío region, one of the municipalities most affected by forest fires in the central-southern area of the country. For her part, Interior Minister Carolina Tohá said that the death toll had been revised downwards to 24, two fewer than previously communicated. The people injured, however, are 2,180, and have burns of varying severity. Tohá added that of the total 311 fire outbreaks nationwide, 84 are still out of control, in an emergency in which 1,180 homes have been destroyed and 5,569 damaged. Finally, the minister indicated that the main fire-fighting aircraft available, the Boeing Ten Tanker which arrived on Monday and was stopped due to a breakdown, will be back in operation by Saturday. (HANDLE).
(ANSA)
