Chile forest fires: Death toll now rises to six

Six people have now been killed fighting vast forest
 fires in central Chile, officials have said.

Interior Minister Mario Fernandez said two police 
officers were found in the Maule River, adding to the 
deaths of four firefighters.

A giant Boeing 747 super tanker plane has been loaned 
from the US to battle the forest fires, Chile's worst in 
decades.

A state of emergency has been declared south of the
 capital, Santiago.

Chile's National Forestry Corporation said multiple blazes
 had affected 238,000 hectares (588,000 acres) and
 were increasing.

On Wednesday, a firefighter died after getting stuck
 while trying to help a family escape from their home
 near the city of Constitucion.

Three others have died and three were injured over the
 past week. More than 4,000 people have been
 evacuated from their homes.

The plane can carry 22-times more water and fire
-retardants than more common single-engine air
 tankers.

The cost is being met by the Walton Family 
Foundation, created by Walmart founders Sam
 and Helen Walton.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet also asked for help
 from French counterpart Francois Hollande, who was 
visiting Chile.

The authorities also requested planes and helicopters 
from the US, Canada and Mexico and neighbouring 
Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Peru.

The blazes spread quickly in the dry and particularly
 hot summer that many South American countries 
are experiencing.

They have struck mainly in sparsely populated rural
 areas in the central regions of O'Higgins and El Maule.