At least 51 people have died and thousands of homes have been destroyed by forest fires in central Chile. 

The death toll could rise further as rescue teams reach the most heavily affected areas, according to President Gabriel Boric. 

There were 92 forest fires burning in the centre and south of the country, affecting 43,000 hectares. 

Some of the fires were developing very close to densely populated areas, "with the very high potential to affect people, homes and facilities", according to Interior Minister Carolina Toha. 

"The area with fires today is much smaller than last year [but] at this time the number of hectares affected is multiplying very rapidly," Ms Toha said. 

Fires during last year's record heatwave left 27 people dead and more than 400,000 hectares burnt. 

In Villa Independencia, a hillside neighbourhood in the east of Villa del Mar, several blocks of homes and businesses were completely destroyed.  

Burnt-out cars with broken windows lined the streets, which were covered in ashes.