Bushfires continue to rage in Australia, 93 die
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The death toll in a massive Australian bushfire rose to 84 on Sunday, making it the deadliest bushfire in Australian history, Reuters reported police as saying. (UPDATED)
By the end of the first day, 65 people had been killed and hundreds of homes burnt in the worst fire disaster in three decades, as a heat and strong winds sent sheets of flame racing through towns and farmland near Melbourne.
Police expect the death toll, already the worst since 75 people died in "Ash Wednesday" fires in 1983, could climb further as they search the ruins of wild fires that flared on Saturday and that continued to burn north of the city on Sunday.
"We are just picking them up (bodies) as we go through, a police spokesman told Reuters.
Many people apparently died in their cars as they attempted to escape the inferno, while others were caught in their homes.
The fatalities, all in
Army units have been sent to help the 3,000 firefighters battling the flames fanned by high winds that continue to rage out of control Sunday, following a once-in-a-century heatwave that sent temperatures soaring to 46 C (115 F).
Rescue services were also fighting huge blazes to the north in the state of
At least two children were among the dead, while
"Unfortunately, there are some who will not survive," trauma specialist John Coleridge told reporters.
But officials said current conditions were even worse, with the ground tinder-dry after a prolonged drought.
"These fires have been very fast, very violent and very ferocious," Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Kieren Walshe said, AFP reported.
Witnesses told of trees "exploding" with the intense heat and fire fronts racing out of control.
Marie Jones said she was staying at a friend’s house in Kinglake, where at least 18 people perished, when a badly burnt man arrived with his infant daughter, saying his wife and other child had been killed.
"He was so badly burnt," she told the Melbourne Age’s website.
"He had skin hanging off him everywhere and his little girl was burnt, but not as badly as her dad, and he just came down and he said Look, I’ve lost my wife, I’ve lost my other kid, I just need you to save (my daughter)."
ARSON SUSPECTED
Arsonists responsible for starting Australian wildfires which killed at least 84 people and destroyed more than 700 homes could be charged with murder, police warned Sunday, AFP reported.
Police Deputy Commissioner Walshe said there was no doubt that arsonists, who face a maximum 25 years in jail if found guilty, were behind some of the fires.
"Some of these fires have started in localities that could only be by hand, it could not be natural causes," he said.
"We will throw the book at you if you are caught," said NSW Premier Nathan Rees said. "This is not fun, this is not clever, this is something that can kill people."
Twenty-six fires were burning in
Police in
In the worst affected areas to the north of
British Prime Minister Brown told his Australian counterpart Sunday that
"The Prime Minister spoke to Kevin Rudd this morning to extend our sympathies to the Australian people, especially those families who have been affected by this tragedy," he said.
"He praised Kevin Rudds leadership at this very difficult time, and said that the
Wildfires are a natural annual event in