Firefighters fight the fire in New South Wales (south-eastern Australia), January 23, 2020. – Noah Berger / AP / SIPA
A plane water bomber crashed in mountainous area southwest of Sydney, killing three, authorities say Australian Thursday, as firefighters faced an upsurge fires fueled by gusts and rising mercury.
Significant efforts have been made to trace the aircraft, which was engaged in the fight against a fire that ravaged nearly 94,000 hectares (940 km2) in southern New South Wales. “Contact was lost with a large water bomber plane in the Snowy Monaro area,” the New South Wales firefighters said in a statement. “Ground crews say the plane may have crashed. Many helicopters have been dispatched to the area to conduct the search. ”
The fires also pushed the authorities to order the closure of the capital’s airport on Thursday in order to reserve its runways for water bombers. Commercial flights to and from Canberra were suspended at around noon on Thursday after two fires south and west of the airport merged into a blaze threatening three suburbs in the capital.
–
