At least 76 people killed in bushfires in Australia

Source: Xinhua | 02-09-2009 08:00

CANBERRA, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- At least 76 people have been killed so far over the past two days in what has officially become Australia's deadliest bushfires disaster, police said on Sunday.

The remains of a house destroyed by bushfires is seen in the town of Kinglake, 55km (34 miles) northeast of Melbourne Feb. 8, 2009. Australian bushfires have killed 76 people and burnt hundreds of homes in the worst fire disaster in three decades, as a heatwave and strong winds sent sheets of flame racing through towns and farmland near Melbourne.  (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

As of Sunday night, at least 750 homes had been destroyed in the bushfire ravaged state of Victoria and more than 330,000 hectares burned out while authorities said some fires could take weeks to contain.

"Hell and all its fury has visited the good people of Victoria in the last 24 hours," Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told reporters in the fire-ravaged Yarra Valley, according to a report by the Australian Associated Press.

"This is an appalling tragedy for Victoria but, because of that, it's an appalling tragedy for the nation," he said.

Some towns were entirely wiped out while some other villages and towns in the north of Victoria were still under threat on Sunday night, almost 36 hours after the first fires were sparked by record heat and winds Saturday morning.

Authorities believed that some of the blazes were deliberately lit, and police said that arsonists could face murder charges and a maximum 25 years in prison.