AKIPRESS.COM - More than 10,000 people have been evacuated from Chile's port city of Valparaiso to escape a moving fire that has killed at least 12 residents.

Some 1,200 firefighters are battling the large blaze, which has destroyed hundreds of homes since Saturday.

President Michelle Bachelet put the army in charge of the evacuation after declaring the city, 110km (70 miles) west of Santiago, a disaster zone.

Security forces are on the streets to maintain order and prevent looting.

Earlier, the authorities said 16 residents had died, but it turned out that one family had been counted twice.

One official said it was the "worst catastrophe" he had ever seen.

"We fear that the fire will spread to the centre of the city, which would increase the severity of the emergency," regional governor Ricardo Bravo, a life-long resident of Valparaiso, said.

The old centre is a Unesco World Heritage Site, packed with old buildings that are vulnerable to fire, BBC News reported.