• Politics: The Prime Minister of Australia admits errors in the management of the fires that already add 27 dead
  • Oceania: Australian fires heat up the climate crisis debate

Three Americans died Thursday when a firefighting plane crashed in southeastern Sydney, Australian authorities said, shortly before they had reported the loss of contact with the aircraft.

The head of the New South Wales rural fire service, Shane Fitzsimmons, added that the Canadian company that owns the C-130 Hercules aircraft decided to suspend flights of its aircraft until a general review of the equipment is carried out.

The crew were citizens of the United States, one of the countries that sent specialized equipment to combat the devastating forest fires that plague Australia, Fitzsimmons said.

"Our heart accompanies all those who suffer the loss of these three outstanding and respected crew members who have dedicated decades of their lives to the fight against fires," he added.

This accident brings the death toll to 32 due to the forest fires that erupted in September 2019 and have not yet been dominated.

The high winds , which hindered the flights of the planes, could have caused the accident.

This Thursday also, the Australian authorities announced the closure and cancellation of all flights to and from the airport of Canberra, the ninth in the country by number of passengers, following a close focus.

The day is marked by the rise in temperatures, which exceed 40 degrees at some points , and the activation of new fire hazard alerts.

In the Sydney region, where the thermometers reached 41 degrees, conditions of intense heat, strong winds and potential storms that could aggravate the situation are feared.

More intense fires due to global warming

The Meteorological Office of the state of New South Wales, whose capital is Sydney and where 84 outbreaks burn, 40 of which remain out of control , indicated that high winds in high mountains "increase the danger of fires."

Forest fires, which have burned since last September and worsened during New Year's Eve, have affected more than one billion animals, as well as over 2,500 homes burned .

These fires, which experts say are more intense due to global warming, have emitted since the start of 400 megatons of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, a value that is equivalent to the annual average of the country's emissions, according to the Copernicus monitoring program.

An Australian Institute survey published today revealed that 57 percent of the 24.6 million inhabitants felt the impact of fires and smoke coming from them, while 26 percent, representing more than 5 million adults Australians, experienced health problems.

The report also indicates that around 1.8 million people were unable to work because of the fires, a loss in productivity estimated at 1.3 billion Australian dollars (894 million US dollars or 806 million euros).

"Australia is in the grip of a national climate disaster. The social, economic and medical impacts are enormous and are just beginning to become apparent," said Tom Swann, principal investigator at the Australia Institute.

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