Fire on Cerro La Pólvora in Concepción leaves three people dead

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CONCEPCIÓN.- Two volunteer fire-fighters from the Eighth Fire Department of Concepción were killed this morning while trying to control a blaze on Cerro La Pólvora, where an elderly woman also perished.

The victims have been identified as 75 year-old Adriana Fonseca Cea, as well as 23 year-old Jonatan González and 21 year-old Aníbal Ríos – both of whom had been serving as fire-fighters for 5 years.

The fire, which affected three homes, leaving 20 people homeless, reportedly originated in the elderly woman's residence due to causes that are still unknown.

Carmen Roa, a next-door neighbor to the woman, claims that she and her family were able to escape from the blaze, which had already begun to consume their home, after they noticed flames coming from the elderly woman's house.

Meanwhile, inhabitants of the surrounding homes, as well as the children of the elderly woman, also managed to escape.

The fateful moment of the incident occurred at approximately 1:00 AM, when the fire squad noticed that two of their volunteers were missing.