Police searching burnt-out Tasmanian towns for bodies
Hobart – Up to 100 people remain unaccounted for as devastating bushfires that have ravaged southern Tasmania continue to burn.
Police are conducting painstaking property-to-property searches in the worst-hit towns of Dunalley, Boomer Bay and Marion Bay, as they fear lives may have been lost.
More than 100 buildings have been destroyed by the fires, which are still burning out of control in several areas of the state, but no deaths have yet been confirmed.
Acting Police Commissioner Scott Tilyard said there were grave fears for many people who had yet to make contact with family or the authorities.
‘‘It’s not to say those people have necessarily come to harm, but we can’t totally eliminate that until we have contact with those individuals,’’ Tilyard said.
‘‘But we have to brace ourselves for the fact we may locate one or more deceased people.
‘‘There are a lot of premises that need to be checked. Until we’ve had the opportunity to check every one of those locations, we won’t be in a position to confirm there have been no deaths.’’
He said those yet to notify family or the authorities should contact the National Registration and Inquiry Service or the Red Cross.
Up to 2500 people have been evacuated from the Tasman Peninsula by boat, and another 400 arrived in the state capital, Hobart, last night, with the Arthur Highway still closed.
At a refuge centre in Hobart’s City Hall, Dunalley resident Patricia McCauley said she was relieved to get her 92-year-old mother-in-law out, but had lost everything. ‘‘ We didn’t have time to get frightened. We just had to get out without anything.’’
Most praised the efforts of emergency workers, after thou- sands lined up on the beach at Nubeena to catch ferries as late as 2am yesterday.
‘‘It got a little bit chaotic because everyone was getting a bit cranky about who had been there the longest,’’ a Sydney woman who wished only to be known as Kathy said. ‘‘Naturally, they said women, children and elderly first.’’
Mr Tilyard said police were investigating whether an escorted convoy of cars could be brought out of the peninsula on the highway before dark last night.
Fire crews from other states have been arriving in Tasmania, as four fires which have burnt about 60,000 hectares continue to cause concern.
The Tasman Peninsula’s Forcett blaze was upgraded again to the highest level last night, with the community of Taranna being told to evacuate.
Two fires in the Derwent Valley and one on the east coast were at the ‘‘watch and act’’ level.
Another massive fire had burnt a further 60,000 hectares in the state’s remote southwest, where several bushwalkers were airlifted to safety.
Tasmania Fire Service (TFS) chief fire officer Mike Brown said crews were having trouble accessing parts of the Tasman Peninsula, and there was no time frame for when the fire there would be brought under control.
‘‘That’s really the $6 million question, because it’s going to take quite some time,’’ he said.
‘‘Our predictions over the next week are that temperatures will warm up a bit.’’
Dunalley was the worst-hit town, with about 65 homes and the school destroyed.
Dozens more buildings were razed at Connellys Marsh, Eaglehawk Neck, Murdunna, Copping and Primrose Sands.