Wildfires race across Chile, leaving 18 dead and forcing thousands to flee

Wildfires raging across central and southern Chile on Sunday left at least 18 people dead, scorched thousands of acres of forest and destroyed hundreds of homes, authorities said, as the South American country swelters under a heat wave.

- AGENCIES PENCO

Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a state of catastrophe in the country’s central Biobio region and the neighboring Nuble region, around 500 kilometers (300 miles) south of Santiago, the capital.

people killed and 300 houses destroyed were expected to rise as the extent of the losses came into focus.