A deadly forest fire in the port city of Valparaiso, Chile, has killed at least 11 people, and destroyed 2,000 homes with strong winds fanning the flames, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said on Sunday.
A state of emergency has been declared by the country’s president in an effort to help the army battle the fires.
At least 12 people have been killed in the fire that swept more than 2.5 million square meters (660 acres). Valparaiso Police Chief Julio Pineda who spoke to 24 Horas television said earlier that 16 people had been killed, but it turned out that one family was counted twice.
Flames are blazing in the urban area that is only 80 kilometers from the country’s capital, Santiago, while strong winds are drives the flames on to the central port cities of Valparaiso and Viña del Mar, situated on the Pacific Coast.
"It is a terrible tragedy, without doubt the worst fire in the history of Valparaiso," President Michelle Bachelet stated upon arrival in the city, according to AFP.
"This is the worst disaster I've seen in Valparaiso," La Prensa reported Ricardo Bravo, the local mayor, as saying.
280 road users were killed while 1600 were injured in auto crashes across the country during the just-concluded Christmas/New Year festivities,the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), said yesterday.
The Corps Marshal, Mr. Osita Chidoka, said in Abuja that the situation could have been worse, but for the 2012 Operation Zero Offences introduced by the corps to ease traffic flow.
He said the death rate from auto accidents has declined in the last 10 years, especially during Christmas period.
Mr. Chidoka, who spoke at the completion of the FRSC Aerial Traffic Monitoring exercise carried out in a few locations across the country, said: “From December 19, 2012 to today, we have had over 480 crashes.
“It’s an improvement on the previous year. We had about 1,600 people injured and 280 deaths arising from these crashes.”
