Nine dead in Australian wildfire

Firefighters have contained Australia’s deadliest wildfire in more than two decades, which killed nine people and left three others missing, officials said today.

The fire, which started on Monday, burned through about 360,000 acres of grass and farmland on South Australia state’s Eyre Peninsula, about 250 miles west of Adelaide.

Country Fire Service spokeswoman Leanne Adams said 80 new firefighters had arrived on the peninsula today to relieve the crews who had brought the blaze under control.

Their next task was to burn a 100-foot fire break around the 85-mile perimeter of the blaze.

“The fire is contained, there were no flare ups overnight,” Adams said.

Eight of the victims – including two children aged four and two – burned to death in their cars as they tried to flee the blaze on Tuesday and another woman was found dead in her home yesterday, said police spokeswoman Kylie Walsh.

Three others were missing and feared dead, she said.

“It will be some time, perhaps days, before the identity of any of the deceased can be established,” Walsh said.

The Eyre Peninsula blaze is the worst wildfire to hit Australia since the so-called Ash Wednesday fires of 1983, in which 75 people were killed in South Australia and neighbouring Victoria state.

Fanned by strong winds and temperatures in excess of 44 degrees Celsius (111 Fahrenheit), the fire raged out of control on Tuesday, forcing many local residents to flee their homes and seek refuge on nearby beaches or in the sea.

The inferno razed five houses, two cabins, three sheds, one shop, seven vehicles, 15 caravans and four boats.

Peninsula resident Russell Puckridge said he had only three minutes to vacate his home before it was enveloped by flames.

“I’ve been here nearly 15 years and this year we paid our house off, but she’s gone, gone,” he told ABC radio.