Official report in Chile: 8 dead, 65 injured and at least 960 detainees

Following the riots of yesterday and this morning, eight people lost their lives in Chile: three were killed by fire in two supermarkets and five in a textile factory northwest of Santiago. In addition, 65 people were injured and nearly 960 were arrested.

Chilean Interior Minister Andrés Chadwick said Sunday that after the curfew and state of emergency imposed by President Sebastián Piñera to end the wave of protests against the increase of the metro ticket, 103 "serious acts were recorded violence" in the country, including 50 in Santiago, Telam publication.

In a message to the nation, the minister said seven groups were burned and 62 police officers were injured in the capital.

Fatalities. In parallel, three people died in two fires.

Two women died during a looting in a supermarket in the municipality of San Bernardo and a third person was hospitalized and 75% of his body was burned. Metropolitan Mayor Karla Rubilar initially announced that the latter had died, but the government then corrected the problem.

Later, a man died in another fire, this time in a supermarket in the municipality of Quinta Normal, Telam said.

The second commander of the Santiago Fire Department, Diego Velásquez, confirmed the discovery of five bodies in a burning textile factory in Renca, northwest of Santiago de Chile. Local residents said the fire could have been intentional.

Injured. Chadwich added that two more civilians had been shot dead, but did not specify who they were or what the circumstances were.

Stopped. At least 960 people were arrested (244 for curfew) during the last 24 hours of protests against the government in Chile, according to the report of Interior Minister Andrés Chadwick, who recorded 103 serious violence : 50 in the metropolitan area and 53 in the rest of Chile.

Chadwick did not specify the number of people arrested in the capital and the number of people subjected to curfews in other cities.

The minister also informed that nearly 8,000 soldiers of the Armed Forces were already deployed in "places of risk", monitoring the critical infrastructure of the city and patrolling to avoid new fires or acts of violence.

Yesterday, the government announced that it would deploy up to 9,500 soldiers in the streets of cities and towns under emergency conditions throughout the day, reported Telam.

Chadwich concluded his message to the press by announcing the holding of a meeting that he will hold today with the Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate and the Supreme Court, in order to ensure analyze the situation and have more information to be able to act.

The Congress plans to meet this Sunday afternoon. However, some lawmakers have warned on social networks that they could not arrive because many flights are still suspended and that the service at Santiago Airport is slowly reactivated.

"We regret everything that this means.With regard to the state of emergency, we are evaluating whether we will extend it to other regions.This Sunday, a meeting of the three powers of the state will be organized, "Chadwick said.