Chile's Biggest Botanical Garden Like 'Smoker's Lung' After Wildfire

The remains of the house of nursery manager Patricia Araya, who died alongside her mother and two granddaughters (Credit: AFP)

Once a lush oasis bursting with native and exotic plants, Chile's biggest botanical garden has been left greyed and charred after a wildfire blazed through last week, also killing a nursery manager and members of her family.

The Vina Del Mar National Botanical Garden was caught up in the raging inferno that killed at least 131 people and destroyed entire neighborhoods in the coastal Valparaiso region, 120 kilometers (75 miles) from Santiago.