An Australian coroner today ruled that no additional charges should be brought over an arson attack at an Outback hostel that killed 15 tourists.

The families of backpackers who perished in the arson attack on an Australian hostel two years ago were seeking compensation today, amid claims of a lack of fire safety in the building.

The families of some of the backpackers who died when an arsonist set fire to an Australian hostel two years ago are to sue its managers for alleged negligence, a lawyer said today.

Fire alarms at a backpackers’ hostel in Australia were switched off by one of the managers just weeks before a fire tore through the building, killing 15 young travellers, including Limerick woman Julie O'Keeffe, 24, a court heard.