[SUP]Residents walk down a road in Hualane as fires burn out of control in the forests around the town. The man on the right can be seen shielding himself from the heat[/SUP]
An official 'state of catastrophe' has been declared in central Chile as crews fought vast forest fires described as the worst in decades.
More than 175 square miles are ablaze in a region just south of the capital, Santiago.
As fire crews were brought in to the O'Higgins region, 200 people were evacuated.
Thirty homes were threatened in Cardenal Caro and Colchagua provinces, according to the country's National Emergency Office.
Interior Minister Mario Fernandez said helicopters and planes in particular were required to drop fire retardant liquid onto forests in the path of the blaze.
It is not known what caused the fire to break out but January is the height of Chile's summer and the forests are tinder-dry after several weeks without rain.
[SUB]A Boeing 747 super tanker has been brought in from the US
[/SUB]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.
