Forest fires have killed 24 people, injured nearly 1,000 and destroyed 800 homes in five days as a blistering heat wave grips south-central Chile, authorities said Sunday.
Fueled by strong winds and temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), hundreds of fires have razed some 270,000 hectares in a region about 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of the capital Santiago.
The toll increased by one since Saturday with the death of a person who was being treated for injuries in hospital, said interior ministry official Manuel Monsalve.
The fatalities included one firefighter as well as two crew members of a helicopter that crashed on Friday.
Monsalve also reported 997 people with fire-related injuries, 26 of them in serious condition.
Eight firefighters are among the injured.
There were scenes of devastation Sunday in areas surrounded by burning forests, with farming plots reduced to ashes,…
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