Fires in Chile: The man whose ‘ash rain’ destroyed the house it took him years to build

The fires in Chile give no respite. This Sunday the death toll rose to 99 due to the disaster that occurred in the Valparaíso region, 100 kilometers from Santiago.

In the midst of the tragedy, CHVNoticias entered the ruins of Achupallas, in Viña del Mar, and spoke with Don Eduardoa man who lost everything in the fire.

In the short interview given to Chilean television, Eduardo asked for help to remove the rubble and expressed pain at the loss of the house that took him so many years to build.

The man, who is currently at his sister’s house, has strongly requested an order from the Government to procure machinery capable of removing unusable material from the area.

“It will cost, it takes time. I built this house by myself, so it hurts because I lost it.“Said Eduardo on the verge of tears seeing the ruins of his home.

The Chilean began building it with his own hands 45 years ago and in several stages. His children were born and raised there and he was with two of them when they were caught in the fire.

Describing the dramatic situation, Eduardo said that “explosions of fire were seen”. “It was a shower of burning ashes. There was no way to save the house. “We had to save our lives,” she said.

Of the 99 deceased, only 32 have been identified, Chile’s Medical Legal Service (SML) reported on Sunday. The Chilean president, Gabriele Boriche said Sunday that the figure will “grow significantly” and that “this is the biggest tragedy we have experienced as a country since the February 27, 2010 earthquake.”

In the latest official report, Chilean authorities reported that fires have devastated more than 43,000 hectares

The prayer of Pope Francis

Pope Francis asked this Sunday to pray “for the dead and injured of the devastating fires in Chile”, after the Sunday Angelus in St. Peter’s Square.

Looking out of the window of the Apostolic Palace for the Angelus prayer, the Supreme Pontiff did not forget the situation in the central region of Valparaíso.