3 people died amid looting in the capital

Three people died this morning during a fire in a supermarket south of Santiago, as part of the looting in the Chilean capital, local authorities said.

The incident occurred in a local of the municipality of San Bernardo, in the south of the country, confirmed the mayor of this metropolitan region, Karla Rubilar, in statements to Radio Bío Bío.

The official explained that firefighters' volunteers had found two charred bodies instead, while one third seriously injured had been transferred to a health center where his death had been found. He published the same support on his website.

"We do not know under what circumstances [se produjeron las muertes]but unfortunately, we must point out that we have three dead in this fire that clearly hurt us a lot, "said the mayor.

In this sense, Rubilar added that he was still not known "if they were people who were corrupting public order or working in this place" that would have caught fire.

According to information provided by the firefighters, the two bodies found dead in the supermarket would correspond to two women, while the third victim would be a man who was reportedly transferred to El Pino Hospital in San Bernardo.

The protests began last Monday after the announcement of a substantial increase in the Santiago Metro passes, which were replicated in other Chilean cities and did not stop even though, yesterday afterwards noon, President Sebastián Piñera, announced that the increase was suspended. (Télam)