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Mexico to help Chile battle raging forest fires

Xinhua, January 25, 2017 Adjust font size:

Mexico will help Chile fight the worst forest fires the South American country has seen, the government said Tuesday.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has instructed the foreign affairs and environmental ministries "to support the efforts to stamp out the forest fires in Chile that have ravaged nearly 228,000 hectares of forests and crops in several regions," the foreign ministry said in a press release.

A team of 58 specialized firefighters and technicians will travel to Chile and stay for two weeks.

The decision follows Chile's request for aid from the international community.

On Monday, when there were still more than 100 active fires raging, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said: "We are facing the largest forestry disaster in our history, affecting an area 20 times larger than that in 2016, but we will overcome the emergency."

Bachelet has declared a state of emergency in at least three regions.

A satellite photo taken from space, showing smoke billowing from dozens of fires scattered around Chile, including along its Pacific coast, was Tuesday's Image of the Day on the Earth Observatory website of NASA, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

"A heat wave coupled with strong winds" has fanned the flames, the site said. Endi