Chile firefighter, official linked to blazes that killed 130
STORY: :: File
Prosecutors in Chile have formally accused a volunteer firefighter and a forestry official with involvement in setting deadly wildfires in February.
Over 130 people died as flames ripped through the central part of the country.
Authorities allege the firefighter - Francisco Ignacio Mondaca - carried out the plot.
Superintendent Ivan Navarro said investigators were able to reconstruct his exact moves.
But the mastermind, authorities allege, was Francisco Pinto, from the part of the agriculture ministry responsible for preventing forest fires.
Prosecutor Claudia Perivancich alleges Pinto wanted to make sure he'd keep his job.
The prosecutor’s office said on Saturday both men were in pre-trial detention.
The blazes that broke out on February 2 were the worst natural disaster to strike the South American nation in over a decade.
Prosecutors say they believe the pair acted deliberately.
Officials found devices made of cigarettes and matches in each of the four places where they started.
Prosecutors also say the men knew about optimal weather conditions to start fires.
A prosecutor said in a social media post that authorities could link Mondaca to half a dozen other fires in the area.
Attorneys for the men could not immediately be reached.
