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Firefighters on mission to douse the ‘catastrophic’ Chilean forest fire
Updated On Jan 23, 2017 05:27 pm IST
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Smoke from forest fires is seen in a town called Pumanque in the O’Higgins region, south of Chile. The Chilean government declared a state of emergency in several central areas due to forest fires that have destroyed more than 35,000 hectares of woods so far. (Reuters)
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Firefighters work to put out a fire in Pumanque, 140km south of Santiago. (Martin Bernetti/AFP)
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A man helps to put out the forest fire. As fire and emergency crews were brought in, officials evacuated 200 people from the mostly rural area south of the capital Santiago. (Martin Bernetti/AFP)
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Some 30 homes were affected in Cardenal Caro and Colchagua provinces, Chile’s National Emergency Office (ONEMI) said. (Martin Bernetti/AFP)
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Firefighters shower water to put out a forest fire in Pumanque. A local ONEMI official Josefina Lopez told AFP that no one was hurt but there was economic damage. (Martin Bernetti/AFP)
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Chile’s agriculture minister Carlos Furche told national radio the disaster ‘was a sort of earthquake’ for the region. (Martin Bernetti/AFP)
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President Michelle Bachelet took time out of hosting a visit by French counterpart Francois Hollande to monitor the situation and declare the state of catastrophe, which allows soldiers to be used to help battle the fire. (Martin Bernetti/AFP)
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Firefighters and volunteers try to tame the fire. A farming emergency was also decreed. Bachelet said France was offering help and she was also reaching out to other countries. (Martin Bernetti/AFP)
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Volunteers help out the firefighters to reduce the fire. Chile’s National Forestry Corporation said on Friday that outside assistance was needed. (Martin Bernetti/AFP)
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A fireman takes a break as others battle the worst forest fires for over 10 years in central Chile. (Martin Bernetti/AFP)
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By calling a state of catastrophe, military personnel can be deployed to assist in dousing the wildfires. (Martin Bernetti/AFP)
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Authorities are yet to discover the cause of the blaze although the forests have been extremely dry after several weeks without rain. (Martin Bernetti/AFP)
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