LA PAZ, Sept 4 (NNN-Xinhua) — At least two people have been killed trying to stamp out fires raging in Bolivia’s Amazon rainforest, President Evo Morales said.
The fires, which have been burning for a month, have destroyed about one million hectares of forest and pastureland, he told reporters at a press conference.
The victims, a community volunteer and a firefighter, were killed battling the blaze in the central department of Cochabamba and western La Paz department.
Volunteer Jorge Hinojoza Vela, 22, died from a fall at Tunari National Park, in Sacaba, Cochabamba. He had been reported missing since Saturday and his body was found Sunday, with burns.
Firefighter Lucio Mamani also died from a fall. He plunged 300 meters into a gully in Coroico de La Paz.
Some 4,000 volunteers and firefighters have been fighting the fires for a month, with help from the international community.
Bolivia hired a Boeing 747 Supertanker to douse the flames from above and has also mobilized five helicopters and small aircraft. — NNN-XINHUA
