Chile poured firefighters and police into the battle against a wildfire that swept through hundreds of homes in the Pacific coastal city of Valparaiso, leaving at least 12 dead, according to an official.
Interior Minister Rodrigo Penailillo reported at least 2,000 homes had been destroyed by the blaze, leaving some 8,000 people without a place to live.
Earlier, Chile’s National Emergency Office’s website, citing police, had said that at least 16 people were dead. It was not immediately clear why the reported death tolls were different.
More than 1,200 firefighters worked to control the wind-whipped blaze in Valparaiso and the suburb of Vina del Mar, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said Sunday.
The wind hampered firefighters’ ability to create firebreaks, and the blaze had spread to more than 2,000 acres, Penailillo said.
