Authorities in Chile announced two days of national mourning Monday after the death toll surged to 122 amid the deadly wildfires, with officials searching for those who remain unaccounted for.
Pictures and videos show burned cars and ashes on the roads of Vina del Mar after the fire engulfed the hilltop area where hundreds of people lived.
According to the state forensic agency, the toll stood at 122 dead, with only 32 of the victims identified.
Chilean President while speaking earlier in Quilpue had said that 64 people were dead, with a warning that the number was certainly "going to rise."
"We know it is going to increase significantly," he added, saying it was the country's deadliest disaster since a 2010 earthquake and tsunami that killed 500 people.
A state of emergency was also declared by the President, pledging government support to help people get back on their feet during his visit to the areas affected by the wildfires.
Most of the fatalities have been in Vina del Mar, a popular tourist spot known for its beaches and botanical gardens.
Macarena Ripamonti, the mayor of the town said Sunday: "190 people are still missing in the city, where 20,000 people have been affected by the fires."
Authorities renewed a nighttime curfew Monday between 9:00pm and 5:00am to facilitate the clean-up and the work of forensic services.
According to the national disaster service, SENAPRED, nearly 26,000 hectares (64,000 acres) had been burned across the central and southern regions by Sunday.
Supported by 31 firefighting helicopters and airplanes, some 1,400 firefighters, 1,300 military personnel and volunteers are combating the flames.
SENAPRED chief Alvaro Hormazabal said firefighters were battlin 34 blazes as of Sunday morning, with 43 others under control.
"Weather conditions are going to continue to be complicated," Hormazabal said.Thousands in the affected areas were ordered to evacuate their homes.
As the weather conditions were improving, rescue officials were still fighting some 40 fires around the country.
Deadliest fire in Chile's history
The fires, raging for days, forced authorities Friday to close the road linking the Valparaiso region to the capital Santiago, about 1.5 hours away, as a huge mushroom cloud of smoke impaired visibility.>/p>
According to Interior Minister Carolina Toha, the weekend blazes have been "without a doubt" the deadliest fire event in Chile's history.
Pope Francis in his Sunday's address called for prayers for the "dead and wounded in the devastating fires in Chile."
The fires are being driven by a summer heatwave and drought affecting the southern part of South America caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon, as scientists warn that a warming planet has increased the risk of natural disasters such as intense heat and fires.
The rising temperatures threaten to engulf more of the continent, as brigades in Argentina have been fighting a fire that has consumed more than 3,000 hectares in Los Alerces National Park, famed for its beauty and biodiversity, since January 25.
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