Associated Press (AP) — A Chilean court on Friday ordered the pretrial detention of a 39-year-old man for his alleged involvement in one of the uncontrolled wildfires that have been raging across the central and southern parts of Chile for nearly a week, leaving at least 20 dead.
The man was arrested late Thursday night for his alleged involvement in the Trinitarias fire, the largest one amid the approximately fifteen wildfires that have been out of control since Sunday.
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Residents look out at wildfires by their homes near Concepcion, Chile, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Torres)
FILE - Firefighters battle a blaze at a house as wildfires burn in Lirquen, Chile, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Torres, File)
Jonathan Escalona stands over his house damaged by wildfires in Lirquen, Chile, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Torres)
FILE - Firefighters battle a wildfire spreading through a forested area near Concepcion, Chile, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Torres, File)
People transport food to victims of wildfires in Lirquen, Chile, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Torres)
According to the prosecution, the fire started when the man was using a wood-burning stove in poor condition. Sparks quickly spread to the vast forest that surrounds Bio Bio — a region about 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the capital Santiago that has been the center of the fires — unleashing one of the worst emergencies in Chile’s recent history.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office requested an extension of the accused’s detention because there are still some ongoing investigations, including the search for more bodies in Lirquen, the town that was ground zero for the tragedy.
The Guarantee Court of Concepción in Bio Bio accepted the request of the prosecutor’s office as part of an ongoing investigation “into an arson case resulting in death.”
During the hearing, prosecutor Jorge Lorca argued that the fire spread through embers. Videos provided by a forestry company have allowed investigators to link the suspect to the events under investigation, he added.
“We personally inspected the feasibility and distance of the actions with the Investigative Police, using an institutional helicopter,” Lorca told reporters outside the courthouse.
According to the court ruling, the accused must remain in pretrial detention until Jan. 26, when prosecutors will formally present the charges against the suspect — which have not yet been made public.
It was in Bio Bio that the blazes hit the hardest, reducing several small towns to ashes.
It has left a trail of destruction and at least 20 dead in the cities of Penco and Lirquen, ground zero for the tragedy. One other person died as the fires spread to other regions.
The Trinitarias fire, which the man is accused of sparking, was the first of several outbreaks in central and southern Chile.
As the days passed, it merged with two other fires, resulting in a massive wall of flames. In total, these fires have already ravaged more than 45,000 hectares (176 square miles) and left at least 21 dead and 305 injured, according to the most recent official figures.
There are about fifteen active megafires, also reported in the regions of Ñuble and La Araucania, in addition to Bio Bio.
Nearly 700 people remained in shelters on Friday, while more than 2,300 homes have been destroyed.
In terms of total area burned, these fires already far exceed what was consumed by the great Valparaiso and Viña del Mar fire in 2024, which devastated more than 8,500 hectares (33 square miles) and claimed 131 lives.
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Residents look out at wildfires by their homes near Concepcion, Chile, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Torres)
FILE - Firefighters battle a blaze at a house as wildfires burn in Lirquen, Chile, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Torres, File)
Jonathan Escalona stands over his house damaged by wildfires in Lirquen, Chile, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Torres)
FILE - Firefighters battle a wildfire spreading through a forested area near Concepcion, Chile, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Torres, File)
People transport food to victims of wildfires in Lirquen, Chile, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Torres)
GALLE, Sri Lanka (AP) — An Iranian warship that was sunk by a U.S. submarine near Sri Lanka had participated in naval exercises hosted by India before heading out into international waters in the Indian Ocean on its way home, New Delhi said.
The sinking underscored the scope of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and its spread in the Middle East and beyond. It also ignited a debate in India about maritime security in the Indian Ocean — a region where New Delhi maintains a significant naval presence.
On Wednesday, Sri Lanka's navy recovered 87 bodies and rescued 32 Iranian sailors from the IRIS Dena, which sank in international waters off the coast of the island nation — a rare instance of a submarine torpedoing a ship since World War II.
Sri Lanka’s navy said it had responded to a distress signal from the IRIS Dena, but by the time it reached the location, there was no sign of the ship, just patches of oil and sailors floating in the water. The rescued mariners were taken to a hospital in the town of Galle, on Sri Lanka’s southern coast.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the sinking illustrates the U.S.-Israeli military operation against Iran is stretching beyond its borders and described IRIS Dena as a “prize ship.” U.S. President Donald Trump has said one of the key objectives of the war is to wipe out Iran’s navy.
A video released by the U.S. Department of Defense on X showed the moment of the torpedo attack. The Iranian ship appears to be hit by an underwater explosion that causes it to break apart, as a large plume of water rises up in the air.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the U.S. Navy of committing an “an atrocity at sea” in sinking the frigate and said on social media on Thursday that the United States “will come to bitterly regret” the attack.
India’s navy and defense ministry said the Iranian warship had participated in the International Fleet Review and the multilateral naval exercise MILAN 2026, organized by the Indian navy in the port of Visakhapatnam from Feb. 15 to Feb. 25. The ministry said 74 countries had joined the events.
The Iranian warship was seen sailing at sea during the exercises in a Feb. 17 post on X by the Indian navy. Another image showed several of its crew members posing on deck with the Iranian flag in the background.
Araghchi stressed that the frigate had been “a guest" of India's navy. The Indian government has not yet publicly commented on the incident.
India has long viewed the Indian Ocean as central to its security, with its navy regularly conducting patrols and multinational exercises to safeguard key sea lanes used for global trade and energy shipments. It has also traditionally sought to maintain a careful diplomatic balance in tensions between the U.S. and Iran while emphasizing on diplomacy and talks.
Indian opposition leaders, however, on Thursday questioned the government’s lack of response to the incident, saying the sinking of the warship so close to India’s maritime neighborhood warranted an official statement.
The opposition Indian National Congress party slammed what it called “silence” from Prime Minister Narendra Modi 's government.
“The conflict has reached our backyard, with an Iranian warship sunk in the Indian Ocean. Yet the Prime Minister has said nothing,” opposition leader Rahul Gandhi wrote in a post on X.
Kanwal Sibal, a former diplomat who served as India’s foreign secretary from 2002 to 2003, wrote on X that India was “far from politically or militarily responsible for the U.S. attack,” but its “responsibility is at a moral and human plane.”
“The U.S. has ignored India’s sensitivities," Sibal said. "The ship was in these waters because of India’s invitation.”
Saaliq reported from New Delhi. Associated Press journalist Bharatha Mallawarachi in Colombo, Sri Lanka, contributed to this report.
Healthcare workers unload from a vehicle, the bodies of Iranian sailors who died when their IRIS Dena warship sank outside Sri Lanka's territorial waters, in Galle, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Nurses exit the National Hospital, where the sailors rescued from IRIS Dena warship by Sri Lanka's navy are treated in Galle, Sri Lanka, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Motorcycle mounted policemen patrol at the National Hospital where rescued Iranian sailors from the IRIS Dena warship by the Sri Lankan Navy are receiving treatment, in Galle, Sri Lanka, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Iranian warship IRIS Dena is seen in the Bay of Bengal during International Fleet Review held at Visakhapatnam, India, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo)
Healthcare workers unload from a vehicle, the bodies of Iranian sailors who died when their IRIS Dena warship sank outside Sri Lanka's territorial waters, in Galle, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
