Published 19:55 IST, December 22nd 2019
After firefighters, another man killed due to wildfires in Australia
Following the deaths of two firefighters, another man got killed after his car hit a tree due to wildfires in Australia. This the third death in the week.
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One person was found dead in a fire zone in New South Wales, Australia. This is the third death in less than a week due to the bushfires where two blazes are burning at an emergency level. Australian Premier Steven Marshall said that the loss of life was a tragedy.
Man died in car crash
Marshall confirmed the man was killed in a car crash linked to one of the fires in the Murraylands, South Australia. The man was killed after the car crashed sparking a fire. Police revealed that the car hit a tree about seven kilometres east of Lameroo, killing the driver, who was the sole person in the car. SA Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said that the exact circumstances of the vehicle collision and the cause of the fire are under investigation. Three Country Fire Service (CFS) vehicles were also destroyed.
Following the incident, some major roads heading to the south and west from Sydney were closed for part of the day. The authorities also warned the people to travel for their Christmas holiday and warned them of unpredictable fire due to strong winds and high temperatures. The island country witnessed the hottest day on Tuesday beating the record of 40.3 Celsius. On Saturday, a cooling but powerful wind with speed of 56mph from the south swept through the state lowering the temperature but also increases the risks of spreading the flames and embers.
Two volunteer firefighters died on Thursday while battling wildfires ravaging Australia’s most populous state, forcing Prime Minister Scott Morrison to cut short his family holiday as authorities braced for temperatures to soar in New South Wales at the weekend. Geoffrey Keaton, 32, and Andrew O’Dwyer, 36, were in a truck convoy fighting blazes southwest of Sydney when a tree fell and caused the vehicle to roll off the road. The two men, both fathers to 19-month-old children, died at the scene while three other firefighters were injured and taken to a hospital.
17:40 IST, December 22nd 2019