Two more dead as fresh waves of violent protests break out in Chile

More than three months of protests in Chile have left dozens of people dead, with clashes sometimes bringing the country to a total standstill.

A man waves Chile's national flag during a protest against the government of Chilean President Sebastian Pinera in Santiago.

A man waves Chile's national flag during a protest against the government of Chilean President Sebastian Pinera in Santiago. Source: EFE

A man died of carbon monoxide poisoning after a supermarket was torched in Chile's capital on Friday, and another succumbed to injuries sustained in clashes with police, bringing the death toll in a new wave of unrest to four.

Protests that flared up in October - initially over a rise in metro fares - had appeared to have calmed down during the summer holidays in Chile.
An anti-government protester stand in front of a burning barricade in Santiago.
An anti-government protester stand in front of a burning barricade in Santiago. Source: AP
But there has been a spike in violent protests this week.

A mob looted and then set fire to the supermarket in southern Santiago in the early hours of Friday.

When firefighters arrived they found a dead man aged 30 to 40 and two other people suffering from signs of asphyxiation.

He died from "asphyxiation by inhaling carbon monoxide," police chief Carolina Nunez told local media.

Another man died Friday, two days after being shot in the head during a protest near a police station in southern Santiago.

On Wednesday a young man died after being hit by a hijacked bus and a football fan was killed on Tuesday after he was hit by a police van.

Another supermarket in the capital was looted overnight while police arrested 16 people.

Burning barricades could be seen in several roads in Santiago on Friday morning.

More than 30 people have died in protests that began initially as a reaction to a modest hike in metro fares in the capital.
A car burns during anti-government protests in Santiago, Chile. An estimated 30 people have died as a result of wide-spread unrest.
A car burns during anti-government protests in Santiago, Chile. An estimated 30 people have died as a result of wide-spread unrest. Source: AP
They quickly mushroomed into wider discontent at inequality and the rejection of billionaire President Sebastian Pinera and his government.

Mr Pinera has launched a raft of measures to try to quell the unrest, including a rise in the minimum wage and state pensions, and health reforms. 

He will also hold a referendum in April on changing the dictatorship-era constitution.


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Source: AFP, SBS

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