SANTIAGO - At least eight people have been killed in the Chile riots after protesters hit the streets of capital Santiago to demonstrate against metro fare hikes.

Officials in the Santiago region said three people died in fires at two looted supermarkets early on Sunday - among sixty Walmart-owned outlets that have been vandalized. Five more people were later found dead in the basement of a burned warehouse and were not employees, authorities said.

The fare-dodging protests, started largely by school children and students, had exploded into violent riots on Friday.

Amid the looting, arson and clashes, thousands of residents of rich and poor neighborhoods alike also took to the streets to express a more widespread discontent over rising living costs and patchy public services that is boiling beneath the surface of one of South American's wealthiest and most liberal economies.

The demonstrations spread around the country over the weekend, and there was little sign of tempers cooling.(FA)