At Least 4 Killed, 15 Missing in Chile Mudslides

Damage done by a landslide is seen in Villa Santa Lucia, Los Lagos, Chile December 16, 2017 in this still image obtained from social media. (Reuters)
Damage done by a landslide is seen in Villa Santa Lucia, Los Lagos, Chile December 16, 2017 in this still image obtained from social media. (Reuters)
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At Least 4 Killed, 15 Missing in Chile Mudslides

Damage done by a landslide is seen in Villa Santa Lucia, Los Lagos, Chile December 16, 2017 in this still image obtained from social media. (Reuters)
Damage done by a landslide is seen in Villa Santa Lucia, Los Lagos, Chile December 16, 2017 in this still image obtained from social media. (Reuters)

At least four people were killed on Saturday and over a dozen missing following mudslides that were triggered by heavy rain, officials said.

Rain caused a river to overflow and the side of a hill to collapse, burying 20 of the 200 houses in Villa Santa Lucia in the Los Lagos region, located 790 miles (1,272 kilometers) south of Chile's capital, Santiago.

A video taken from a helicopter by Chilean police showed a vast swath of the remote town buried beneath the mud as the landslide plowed its way down a flooded river valley.

Earlier Saturday, Deputy Secretary of the Interior Madmud Aleuy said there were three people dead, including an unidentified tourist.

Rescue workers were continuing to search through the debris for at least 15 people.

President Michelle Bachelet declared the region a catastrophe zone and confirmed the number of dead and missing.

“I have ordered rescue workers to put all the necessary resources toward protecting the people of Villa Santa Lucia,” she said on social media.

She met with her team of ministers to coordinate rescue and assistance efforts.

Some of the injured were taken by helicopter to medical centers.

Two families were evacuated because of a fire caused by the slide, authorities said. Water and electricity service to the area was knocked out.

The alert level in the area had been raised to red because of the persistent rains.

The mudslide also destroyed a school and several homes and roadways as well as a voting center ahead of Chile’s presidential election on Sunday.

More than 4.5 inches (11.4 cm) of rain fell in 24 hours, the country’s Interior Ministry said, but weather conditions were expected to improve later in the day.

Villa Santa Lucia borders Chile’s Corcovado National Park, a popular tourist region of volcanoes, fjords and vast forests.

The nearby Chaiten volcano erupted in 2008, forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents.



Two Dead, Homes Burn in Massive Wildfire in Cyprus 

Smoke fills the air as firefighters battle a forest fire in the Cypriot village of Souni, in the Limassol province, on July 24, 2025. (AFP)
Smoke fills the air as firefighters battle a forest fire in the Cypriot village of Souni, in the Limassol province, on July 24, 2025. (AFP)
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Two Dead, Homes Burn in Massive Wildfire in Cyprus 

Smoke fills the air as firefighters battle a forest fire in the Cypriot village of Souni, in the Limassol province, on July 24, 2025. (AFP)
Smoke fills the air as firefighters battle a forest fire in the Cypriot village of Souni, in the Limassol province, on July 24, 2025. (AFP)

Two people were killed and hundreds evacuated as a massive wildfire tore through southern Cyprus, destroying homes and threatening communities amid an intense heatwave.

At least 100 square kilometers (39 square miles) was razed to the ground in a region north of the city of Limassol after the blaze broke out around midday on Wednesday, with several fronts still active on Thursday morning.

Two people were found dead in a burned-out vehicle, trapped by the fire. At least 10 people were injured, two of them seriously, police said.

As dawn broke, a red hue hung over Limassol, a sprawling coastal city where development in recent years has spilled over to its surrounding mountains. Firefighting aircraft were redeployed at first light after darkness forced a pause.

Authorities said it was too early to give a precise account of damage, or what started the fire.

"We are talking about very strong winds, with gusts, which were constantly interchanging," fire brigade spokesperson Andreas Kettis said.

Temperatures on the island peaked at 43 degrees Celsius (109.4 Fahrenheit) on Wednesday, triggering an amber weather alert. A new amber warning was in place on Thursday, with highs forecast to hit 44 degrees Celsius - the hottest of the year so far.

Cyprus has requested help through the European Union's civil protection mechanism, with Spain expected to send two aircraft on Thursday, government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said. Jordan has also pledged assistance.

Cyprus has struggled with a protracted drought, pushing scarce water resources to critically low levels. The affected area sits just north of Cyprus's Kouris reservoir, the island's largest. It was at just 15.5% of its capacity on Wednesday.