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© Reuters. Smoke from wildfires blankets the sky in Vina Del Mar, Chile February 2, 2024. REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido

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(Reuters) – At least 19 people were killed by forest fires in the coastal tourist city of Vina del Mar and the death toll could rise in the coming hours as rescue teams reach more affected areas, Interior Minister Carolina Toha said on Saturday.

Black smoke billowed into the sky over many parts of the Valparaiso region, home to nearly one million inhabitants in central Chile, while firefighters using helicopters and trucks struggled to quell the flames in the area.

Throughout the country there were 92 active fires, leaving more than 43,000 hectares affected by the incident, Interior Minister Toha said.

“The report of fatalities is very provisional,” Toha said. “We have reports from other places where there are indications that there may be more people dead but we do not have confirmation on the ground.”

Wildfires are not uncommon in Chile over summer months and last year, on the back of a record heat wave, some 27 people died and more than 400,000 hectares were affected.

“The area with fires today is much smaller than last year (but) at this time the number of hectares affected is multiplying very rapidly,” Toha said.

Between Friday and Saturday the hectares impacted by the wildfires increased from 30,000 to 43,000.

Toha said that the authorities’ greatest concern was that some of the active fires were developing very close to urban areas “with the very high potential to affect people, homes and facilities”.