Futaleufu evacuees arrived in Osorno early this morning

SANTIAGO. -  Six buses filled with evacuees from the town of Futaleufu arrived at the N°9 Arauco Reinforced Regiment at approximately 4 AM on Wednesday.

The close to 200 residents arrived in the Tenth Region after leaving on Tuesday to cross the border from Argentina into Chile, making an approximately 700-kilometer long trip, lasting about 16 hours.

In Futaleufu (which means “big river” in the Mapuche language), only 80 of the town’s 1,826 inhabitants remained in the municipality while another 200 remained in rural areas.  50 other people consisting of police officers, municipal and health officials also remained with no senior citizens or children present.

Chief of Police Jose Bernales is scheduled to arrive in the city today to inspect law-enforcement units.