Australian authorities lost contact on Thursday with a water bomber plane that could be crashed into a mountainous area southwest of Sydney as firefighters faced an upsurge in 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 the south of New South Wales. "Contact was lost with a large water bomber plane in the Snowy Monaro area," said New South Wales firefighters 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 prompted 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 around noon on Thursday as two lights south and west of the airport merged into a blaze threatening three suburbs in the capital.
- Fire
- Plane crash
- Crash
- Australia
- World