Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Concepcion, Chile (CNN)

The death toll from Saturday's 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Chile reached 795 on Tuesday, the president's office said.
Officials say the tally likely will increase in coming days as search-and-rescue crews dig into collapsed buildings and discover more bodies.
While that work continued, officials also dealt with another pressing problem: looting and lawlessness in the city of Concepcion and other areas of central and southern Chile.
Authorities said they would enforce a curfew from 6 p.m. Tuesday until noon Wednesday.
Speaking at a Tuesday morning news conference, President Michelle Bachelet said mayhem will not be allowed.
The president's comments came after another restless night in Concepcion, where looters openly ransacked stores in front of soldiers standing guard nearby and neighborhood residents have set up armed security committees.
The unrest broke out as thousands of desperate residents in southern and central Chile remained without food, water, electricity, gas and other basic services in the wake of the earthquake.
More than 13,000 soldiers were being dispatched to secure order, Bachelet said.
A CNN crew witnessed looters being arrested Tuesday and observed that more troops seemed to be patrolling Concepcion on Tuesday than Monday.

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