Bolivian President Evo Morales was lost on Thursday evening in a forest for approximately an hour, according to local media, after lending a hand to efforts to put out wildfires that have ravaged the South American nation.
Local media reported that Morales was participating in firefighting efforts in a remote region of eastern Bolivia when night fell on the group and it became lost in the forest.
Earlier in the day, Morales joined a crew combating the blazes that the country has struggled to contain.
The blazes are burning unabated across vast swaths of hilly tropical forest and savannah near Bolivia's border with Paraguay and Brazil. At least 1 million hectares, or approximately 9840 square kilometres, have been impacted by the fires, officials said.
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Bolivia late last week contracted a Boeing 747 'Supertanker' from the United States to help with the firefighting, and has mobilised more than 2000 firefighters, as well as small aircraft and helicopters.
Reuters
