Over 2,000 isolated and 600 trucks stranded by snow in Lonquimay

Heavy snowfall has left more than 2,000 residents isolated in Lonquimay, located in Chile's La Araucanía region. The severe winter weather has also stranded over 600 trucks on the international route to Argentina, primarily in the Pino Hachado sector. Drivers are waiting for conditions to improve before they can continue their journeys.

Lonquimay's mayor, Eduardo Yáñez, has appealed to public agencies for a swift response, urging them to cut through bureaucracy and provide aid to the affected residents. He highlighted the limitations of the small municipality's resources, stating they cannot shoulder the burden of public services with their own limited machinery.

“

We ask the authorities to please expedite the processes, eliminate bureaucracy a bit, and react to help the neighbors. We are a small municipality that depends 100 percent on the municipal common fund and we cannot be doing the work of public services with the few machines we have.

The situation is expected to worsen with the arrival of a new weather system, bringing temperatures as low as minus 12 degrees Celsius to Lonquimay and surrounding precordillera areas. Measures are in place to halt additional trucks from proceeding towards Curacautín and Lonquimay to ease congestion on the route.

“

There are more than 500 or 600 trucks there in that sector stuck, which also have no conditions.