Chile's massive wildfires leave 18 dead; 50,000 evacuated as President expects toll to rise | Scary videos emerge

At least 18 people died and thousands were evacuated as wildfires raged across Chile, with Chilean President Gabriel Boric declaring a state of catastrophe in two southern regions of the country on Sunday.

The fires, which caused rampage across central and southern Chile, destroyed thousands of acres of forest and destroyed hundreds of homes, continued to advance amid a heat wave gripping the South American nation.

More than 30,000 people have already been evacuated in the regions of Ñuble and Biobío Alicia Cebrián, the head of Chile’s National Disaster Prevention and Response Service known as Senapred, told TV station TVN.

The official noted that 19 separate fires have been reported in the country till now.

It is hard to estimate exactly how many hectares of land have been destroyed, as authorities put focus on containing the advance of fires and protecting people, according to Cebrián.

Videos of the wildfires emerged on social media as people were rushed out of their homes.

The catastrophe designation will allow the authorities to have better coordination with the military to control the over two dozen active wildfires.

According to the national forestry agency, the fire blazed through 8,500 hectares of land.

Speaking at a press conference from the hard-hit city of Concepción in the Biobio region, Boric expressed his support and condolences to the victims of the Chile wildfires. He further warned that the government's initial reports of 18 people killed and 300 houses destroyed were expected to rise as it focussed on the extent on the losses.

The Chilean president said that the total number of homes that have been damaged in Biobio alone to be “certainly more than a thousand, just so far.”

According to a report by Reuters, the fires ravaging the hillsides have forced 50,000 people out of their homes.

“The first priority, as you know, in these emergencies is always to fight and extinguish the fire. But we cannot forget, at any time, that there are human tragedies here, families who are suffering,” Boric said, calling the situation “difficult times”.

“These are difficult times for the country, especially for areas such as Penco and Tomé, which is why I want to express my condolences to the families who have lost loved ones in this tragedy. Today we have a confirmed number of 18 people deceased, but unfortunately we are certain that this figure will increase,” Boric said in a post on X after the press conference.

“Dear President Boric, from the bottom of my heart, I have been here for four hours, a community is burning and there is no (government) presence,” Rodrigo Vera, the mayor of the small coastal town of Penco in the Biobio region, said on a local radio station earlier Sunday. “How can a minister do nothing but call me to tell me that the military is going to arrive at some point?”

Firefighters struggled to extinguish the flames, with the heat and strong winds hampering their efforts. Temperatures topped 38 degrees Celsius.