| |
| |
 |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
SYDNEY: Hundreds of firefighters on Saturday battled dozens of bush blazes across Australia which have left one dead and forced some residents to evacuate their homes.
About 600 firemen were fighting to contain more than 50 wildfires in the eastern state of Queensland, while 20 were burning in New South Wales along with more in the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
On Friday, one firefighter collapsed and died after helping put out a grass fire on the New South Wales coast.
"Firefighters are men and women who are dedicated to saving life and property - it hits all of us hard when one of our own dies or is injured," New South Wales Fire Brigade commissioner Greg Mullins said in a statement.
The blazes, in hot and windy conditions, follow February's Black Saturday disaster when 173 people died in Australia's worst ever bushfire disaster.
Residents near Queensland's Mount Archer National Park were told to leave their homes to avoid two major blazes, while aerial water bombing was carried out elsewhere in the state.
Motorists were urged to take care on New South Wales' Pacific Highway and in the northern city of Darwin, while firefighters managed to save a number of homes and mango orchards threatened by flames.
Another blaze which put houses and properties at risk in the northwestern tourist town of Broome was also brought under control, although fire officials warned it could flare again.
- AFP/yb
|
