An elderly couple have become the first victims of bushfires which have been ravaging drought-stricken areas of eastern Australia, police said Thursday.
The bodies of the 77-year-old man and 68-year-old woman were found in the charred remains of their home in rural New South Wales state, a police spokesman said.
Authorities said one man had suffered serious burns in a fire that was thought to have been deliberately lit.
Scores of blazes burned across the state and neighbouring Queensland on Tuesday as temperatures climbed as high as 40C (104F) in some areas.
A series of fires have destroyed at least 30 houses and numerous other buildings in the past week in northern New South Wales.
The worst-hit town of Rappville lost around 15 of its 200 homes when a large bushfire tore through the area earlier this week, authorities said.
Police said the Rappville fire may have been caused by arson, though investigations were continuing. The fire which killed the couple in an area known as Long Gully was not suspicious.
The Long Gully fire began October 4, police said, and appeared to have destroyed the couple’s home on Tuesday. Their bodies were found Thursday morning.
Bushfires are an annual occurrence in Australia during the southern hemisphere spring and summer.
Bushfires were presently affecting more than 100,000 hectares of land. In some areas, the blazes had raged for more than five weeks.
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