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108 killed in deadliest-ever Australian wildfires
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| Contributor | Wishful Thinking |
| Last Edited | Wishful Thinking Feb 08, 2009 05:02pm |
| Category | Advertisement |
| News Date | Feb 08, 2009 05:00pm |
| Description | Searing temperatures and wind blasts created a firestorm that swept across a swath of the country's Victoria state, where at least 750 homes were destroyed and all of the victims died.
"Hell in all its fury has visited the good people of Victoria," Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said. "It's an appalling tragedy for the nation."
If any of the deadly fires were deliberately lit, "There are no words to describe it other than mass murder," he said on Nine Network television.
Wildfires are common during the Australian summer. Government research shows about half of the roughly 60,000 fires each year are deliberately lit or suspicious. Lightning and people using machinery near dry brush are other causes.
Victoria police Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe said police suspected some of the fires were set deliberately.
Dozens of fires were also burning in New South Wales state, where temperatures remained high for the third consecutive day. Properties were not under immediate threat. |
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