Chile wildfire destroys 500 homes, kills 2 people in port city of Valparaiso

Valaparaiso/Chile: A wildfire in the Chilean port city of Valparaiso has destroyed 500 homes and killed at least two people.

President Michelle Bachelet declared the area a disaster zone late on Saturday after huge tongues of fire engulfed one house after another.

The fire passed through 12 neighbourhoods, destroying 500 homes, mayor Jorge Castro said, telling state TV channel TVN that 3,000 people had been evacuated.

Two senior citizens were killed, Chilean military rear admiral Julio Leiva told local radio.

Initial reports also indicated that there were at least four people with varying degrees of injuries.

Thousands of people watched the hills burning bright red overnight and a dense column of smoke advanced towards Valparaiso's port, one of Chile's largest.

The city of 270,000, 110 kilometres west of the capital Santiago, had its historic quarter declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2004, and it draws thousands of foreign and local visitors each year.

The cause of the fire is still being determined and it has led to power outages and disruptions of drinking water supplies in several neighbourhoods.

Interior minister Rodrigo Penailillo says the president has signed a decree authorising the army to help evacuate "thousands and thousands of people who at this moment are being evacuated from their homes."