Death toll from Peru's forest fires rises to 18

The death toll from Peru's forest fires increased to 18, the National Institute of Civil Defense (Indeci) said Friday.

The fires "have caused 165 people injured due to burns and unfortunately have claimed the lives of 18 people so far this year," while some 2,000 hectares of crops have been affected, said Cesar Sierra, Indeci's response director.

At a meeting held Friday at the National Emergency Operations Center headquarters, the institutional head of Indeci, Juan Urcariegui, said that 83 percent of the fires in the country "have already been controlled and extinguished."

The government on Wednesday declared a state of emergency in the regions of Amazonas, San Martin and Ucayali due to severe fires.

Urcariegui added that two command posts have been deployed in the cities of Tarapoto and Pucallpa to coordinate actions in the affected areas.

UN data showed that nearly 60 percent of Peru's territory is covered by tropical forests. Forest fires have been occurring more frequently and in a broader scope in the country, due to human activity such as the burning of dry grasslands for agricultural purposes, as well as the effects of climate change.

Related World News

At least 51 dead in Iran coal mine explosion

A gas explosion in a coal mine in Iran's South Khorasan Province killed at least 51 people and injured 20, Iran's state media said on Sunday. The accident was caused by a methane gas explosion in two blocks, B and C, of the mine run by the Madanjoo company, state media said. “76% of the ....

Voting for Sri Lanka's presidential election concludes peacefully

COLOMBO:Voting for the presidential election in Sri Lanka concluded peacefully on Saturday afternoon, with the counting of the votes being expected to begin. Voting started at 7 a.m. local time on Saturday and officially ended at 4 p.m. on the same day at over 13,000 polling stations bei....

Death toll from Israeli attacks in Gaza has risen to 41,391 as 22 more Palestinians killed by Israeli airstrike on a school

GAZA:At least 22 Palestinians were killed and 30 others wounded on Saturday in an Israeli airstrike on a school housing displaced people in southern Gaza City, Gaza-based health authorities said. The school was in the Zeitoun neighborhood and most of the casualties were children and women, the....

Death toll rises to 31 in Israeli military attack in Lebanon

The death toll from attack by the Israeli military on a Beirut suburb rose to 31, including seven women and three children, according to reports. Atleast 68 people were also wounded in the attack, of whom 15 remain hospitalized. He said search and rescue operations are ongoing and the nu....

At least 12 killed, over 60 injured in Israeli airstrike on Beirut

BEIRUT: Hezbollah launched over 100 rockets at more than 30 settlements in western Galilee and a key intelligence base in northern Israel on Friday, retaliating for an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs that killed at least 12 people and wounded 66 others, according to the Lebanese....