Five dead in Australia fire, others leap into sea
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-01-11 15:50

At least five people were killed Tuesday when a bushfire burned out of control across a southern Australia peninsula and an unknown number of others leapt into the sea to escape the fire, police said.

The fire was burning across a wide area on the Eyre Peninsula, about 155 miles west of the South Australian state capital Adelaide, and several homes had been destroyed.

"At least five people have lost their lives today. We're looking at reports that may possibly increase that number," police inspector Malcolm Schluter told reporters.

Local resident Bob Arthur stands in front of what remains of his belongings after a bushfire engulfed the caravan park he lived in near the town of Port Lincoln on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia January 11, 2005. At least five people are now confirmed dead as fires continue to rage across lower Eyre Peninsula, located around 600 kilometres northwest of Adelaide, heading towards coastal townships. [Reuters]

Boats had been sent to pick up people who had jumped into the sea to escape the blaze, South Australia state emergency services spokesman Gordon Hartley told Australian Broadcasting Corp. (ABC) radio.

Roads had been cut and an unknown people had been evacuated from houses and rural properties, officials said.

The fire, the first major flare-up of the Australian bushfire season, broke out Monday in scrubland around the coastal tuna fishing town of Port Lincoln.

Firefighters contained the blaze overnight but it flared again as temperatures soared above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) and was fanned by strong winds.

"There is no firefighting force in the world that could have stopped a fire in the conditions we experienced today," Country Fire Service spokesman Simon Vogel told Australian television.

At least five towns north or northwest of Port Lincoln were under threat, officials said.

ABC radio later reported that a second fire had broken out in hills just outside Adelaide but no reports of injury or damage had been received from that blaze.

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