Five tourists, two Mexicans and three Europeans, died in the Torres del Paine nature reserve, in Chilean Patagonia, after being struck by a storm, authorities announced Tuesday.
“We have to announce the deaths of five people”, two Mexicans, two Germans and one British, José Antonio Ruiz, the presidential delegate in the Magallanes region, told the press.
Earlier in the day, he reported the deaths of two Mexicans and the disappearance of seven other visitors at the famous park, located about 2,800 km south of Santiago. Four missing people were found alive.
Strong wind, rain and snow
Since Sunday, winds of up to 120 km per hour and rainfall mixed with snow have greatly reduced visibility, Juan Carlos Andrades, director of the Magallanes region’s National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (Senapred), told AFP. In such conditions, visitors “leave the marked path, but the white wind makes them lose their direction,” he explained by telephone.
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Starting in November, at the end of southern spring, the park welcomes the first hikers of the season. One of the most famous routes is the one around the Paine Massif, a circuit that lasts more than a week.
In 2023, more than 360,000 people visited the park, which is classified as a biosphere reserve by UNESCO, according to the National Forestry Company (Conaf).
