Chile widens state of emergency as raging wildfires leave four dead

President Gabriel Boric cuts short vacation as heatwave fuels blazes across southern and central regions

Chile’s government has declared a widened state of emergency amid wildfires that have killed four people and consumed about 8,000 hectares (19,700 acres), as the South American country endures a summer heatwave across southern and central swaths of the country.

The interior minister, Carolina Toha, said on Friday morning the government had declared a catastrophe in the region of Biobío, joining its neighbouring region Ñuble, which President Gabriel Boric announced on Thursday evening.