Hector Andrade / Agencia Uno via AP
Firefighters and investigative police officers carry the bodies of firefighters who died battling wildfires in a mountain near Carahue, southern Chile, on Jan. 5, 2012. Nearly 50 wildfires have sprung up in southern Chile, destroying hundreds of houses, forcing the evacuations of thousands of people and causing millions of dollars in damage to the forestry and tourism industries that fuel the economy in the country’s Patagonia region.
Ariel Marinkovic / EPA
A photograph made available on Jan. 06, 2012, showing one of the wildfires in the area of Quillon on Jan. 04.
Hector Andrade / Reuters
Rescue team members walk past burnt woodland as they carry the body of a firefighter after a forest fire near Temuco city on Jan. 05.
The Associated Press reports from SANTIAGO, Chile:
Five firefighters are dead and three others missing in Chile, where spreading wildfires are being fueled by high winds and dangerously dry conditions.
Gov. Miguel Mellado says a brigade of local firefighters was caught in the flames when winds suddenly shifted in Cautin, about 450 miles south of the capital, Santiago.
As well as those killed and missing, two other firefighters suffered severe burns as they battled blazes in the Cordillera de la Costa. Continue reading.