Chile protests: Three killed in Santiago supermarket blaze amid violent riots

Three people have died in Chile after protesters started a fire inside a supermarket.

Two victims were killed at the scene in Santiago and another died in hospital, after the shop was looted during a heated night of protests in the Chilean capital.

The country’s president Sebastian Piñera declared a state of emergency after Santiago and other cities were engulfed by riots over a rise in public transport costs.

The unrest began on Monday when hundreds of students mobbed several metro stations in Santiago, jumping over turnstiles in a fare-dodging stand against the 4 per cent increase in fares.

On Friday, the operator of Santiago's subway system announced the suspension of all six of its train lines, stranding hundreds of thousands of furious commuters.

By Saturday, the protests had turned violent, with thousands of protesters setting fires in subway stations, and one group burning down a high-rise energy company building.

Officials reported 156 police officers and 11 civilians had been injured and more than 300 people arrested by Sunday.

Santiago governor Karla Rubilar confirmed the death of three people in the supermarket blaze that was started by demonstrators on Saturday.

"We regret to inform that according to preliminary information from Chilean police two people were found fatally burnt in San Bernardo and a seriously injured person was moved to hospital where they died," Ms Rubilar said in a tweet on Sunday.

Despite President Piñera claiming he had “heard with humility” the voice of his compatriots, and announcing a suspension of the fare hike, the protests have continued to gather strength.

They have now broadened to reflect general discontent in the country, with thousands of Chileans demonstrating against the high price of living, including the cost of electricity, water and medicines.

At around midnight on Friday, Mr Pinera declared a state of emergency in Santiago, allowing authorities to restrict rights to assembly and movement.

Soldiers and tanks were deployed in the street as authorities imposed a night curfew between 10pm and 7am local time.

By late Saturday, protests had extended to another 20 cities, including Valparaiso and Concepcion, where states of emergency were also declared.

Police repressed protesters with tear gas, while protesters had set up barricades and looted businesses.

Walmart said in a statement that 60 of its stores in Santiago and six other cities suffered looting.

On Sunday morning, flights operated by Chile's biggest airlines LATAM and another, Sky Airline, were suspended or delayed after the public transport shutdown and continued rioting left flight crews struggling to get to work.

Crowds of affected passengers were left stranded at the airport as a result.

The unrest is the worst to hit the country in decades, exposing deep divisions across one of South America’s wealthiest regions.

Until Saturday, Chilean governments of left and right have been wary of bringing soldiers back onto the streets since the end of General Augusto Pinochet’s brrutal dictatorship in 1990.

"Piñera's decision to deploy the military in Chile - a country that experienced a 17-year repressive dictatorship - is troubling and could further destabilize the situation," said Jenny Pribble, associate professor of political science at the University of Richmond.

"It also sends a message to Chileans that the parties of the right still see the military, and not democratic process, debate, and dialogue, as the ultimate solution to social conflict."

Meanwhile, a photo of President Piñera went viral on Friday, as he dined in an upmarket restaurant amid the heated clashes.

Critics said the snap, reportedly taken during a birthday celebration for the president's grandson, were emblematic of a leader out of touch with ordinary Chile.