Australian wildfire blaze claims 10 lives

Terrified residents had to leap into the sea to escape a raging wildfire that killed at least 10 people in southern Australia.

The blaze on the Eyre Peninsula, about 250 miles west of Adelaide, was the worst of several wildfires reported around South Australia state, where temperatures have topped 44 degrees Celsius (111 Fahrenheit) in recent days.

Residents of at least one township were forced to evacuate their homes and seek refuge on a beach to avoid the flames, State Emergency Services spokesman Stuart Macleod said.

“Some people had moved into the sea to escape the fire. Our people picked them up and brought them back to shore,” Macleod said today.

The peninsula fire was reported on Monday night and contained by firefighters, but flared up again yesterday before blazing out of control, police spokeswoman Kylie Walsh said. The fire was contained to inaccessible forest areas today.

Police found the bodies of eight people yesterday who were burned in their cars as they tried to outrun the blaze. Another two bodies were found on a burnt-out property, Walsh said. Six other people were missing.

It was not immediately clear what started the blaze. Firefighters said yesterday’s weather conditions made it impossible to contain.

“There is no firefighting force in the world that can stop the fire in the conditions we experienced today,” Country Fire Service spokesman Simon Vogel told the Ten television network.

Two other wildfires also forced the closure of several Adelaide highways yesterday.