SYDNEY: Thousands of people have fled wildfires raging on the Australian island of Tasmania that have destroyed at least 80 properties amid fears that at least one man died in the blaze, police said yesterday.
The fires flared on Friday as much of the country suffered a summer heat wave that pushed temperatures above 40 Celsius in Tasmania, a southern island state known for its cooler climate.
One of the worst affected areas was the small community of Dunalley, some 55km east of Hobart, where police estimate about 30 percent of buildings have been destroyed, including the police station and school.
In nearby Connelly’s Marsh, about 40 percent of buildings have been ruined. Police said a fire-fighting crew was trapped by a bushfire on Friday at Dunalley, where there are fears that a man may have died in the blaze.
“They had to take shelter in their vehicle as the fire burned over their vehicle and they were, from that location as I understand it, able to see a gentlemen who was trying to protect his property and they couldn’t get to him, it was too unsafe,” acting Police Commissioner Scott Tilyard said.
Police said there were no confirmed deaths or major injuries, but a priority was to search damaged properties. “We are hoping there have been no deaths but until we have the opportunity to get in and literally go through property by property we can’t confirm there hasn’t been one or more deaths,” Tilyard said.
Dunalley resident Tony Young told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that he realised the seriousness of the wildfires when he spotted plumes of smoke and a helicopter overhead.
“All I could do was drive the car out of the shed, drive across the other side of the road and stand back and look at the whole place just being engulfed in flames, just like a movie,” he said.
Further south on the Tasman Peninsula, about 2,000 people have taken refuge in the town of Nubeena, while another 600 are sheltering at the nearby historic Port Arthur site. Others have been ferried to emergency accommodation in Hobart. Afp
