Death toll from Peru's forest fires rises to 18

Lima, Sep 21 (IANS) The death toll from Peru's forest fires has increased to 18."The forest fires injured 165 people and unfortunately have claimed the lives of 18 people so far this year," while some 2,000 hectares of crops have been affected.At a meeting held on Friday at the National Emergency Operations Center headquarters, the institutional head of Indeci, Juan Urcariegui, said that 83 per cent of the fires in the country "have already been controlled and extinguished," the National Institute of Civil Defence (Indeci) said on Friday.On Wednesday, the government declared a state of emergency in Amazonas, San Martin, and Ucayali due to severe fires, said Cesar Sierra, Indeci's response director.

Urcariegui reported 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 per cent 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 and the effects of climate change.