5:36 AM
President Michelle Bachelet has declared the city a catastrophe zone
A large forest fire has killed four people and destroyed more than 500 homes in Chile's port city Valparaiso.
Thousands of people are being evacuated from the city to
escape the flames, which have been fanned by strong winds coming in from
the Pacific. President Michelle Bachelet put the army in charge of the evacuation after declaring the city, 110km (70 miles) west of Santiago, a disaster zone.
Many residents of the city are said to be suffering from smoke inhalation.
Large parts of Valparaiso are without electricity.
The strong winds from the Pacific pushed the fire deeper into the city
It was an apocalyptic scene as the flames covered the city in a bright glow
The city's mayor said the fire was advancing in an "uncontrollable manner"
Those killed in the fire were three men and a woman, according to Interior Minister Rodrigo Penailillo. Volunteer firefighters found the charred remains of two elderly people on a street in the port area, Chilean navy Admiral Julio Leiva said without giving further details.
The city's mayor, Jorge Castro, told Chile's National Television that refuges have been set up for the thousands of residents that have been forced to flee the fire.
The battle to contain the blaze has been hampered by strong Pacific coast winds that have pushed the fire deeper into the city's neighbourhoods.
"The weather is complicating the situation," emergency official Guillermo de la Mazza told reporters. "The wind is not doing us any favours. The evacuation is our top priority, along with controlling the fire itself."
The port city was swathed in a huge cloud of smoke
This local man stares at the large-scale destruction of buildings
Several hundred homes have been destroyed in the inferno
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