181 killed in Australian bush fires

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Source: CCTV.com | 02-13-2009 16:34

In Australia, the official death toll of the deadliest bush fire in the country's history stood at 181 on Thursday morning, but Victorian police say the final figure could be more than 200.

Fire trucks leave the town of Kinglake, 46km (29 miles)  north of Melbourne, February 11, 2009. Cooler weather  helped thousands of firefighters begin to get a grip on  Australia's deadliest bushfires on Wednesday but 181  people were confirmed dead in parts of the southeast  devastated by the infernos.REUTERS/Daniel Munoz

Meanwhile, fire authorities managed to contain a bush fire, believed to be deliberately lit, in a Melbourne suburb.

A teenager was spotted suspiciously walking away from the area after the fire broke out.

Melbourne firefighters used a water bombing helicopter and ground troops, and contained the blaze before it became a bigger threat to nearby properties.

But it was enough to scare nearby residents, who watched the fires wipe away neighboring Victorian towns that claimed scores of lives last weekend.

"It is frightening, it is terrible. I mean just looking at it, you'd have to imagine that it has been deliberately lit."

"It is frightening, I don't know how those people in Kinglake how they ever got through it because it is terrifying and the smoke in your eyes, horrid, horrid."