SYDNEY/MELBOURNE (Reuters) - A volunteer firefighter was killed battling
Australian bushfires on Monday as "columns" of flames generating their own dangerous weather systems bore down on a tourist region, prompting the evacuation of tens of thousands of people.
The firefighter, and two others who suffered burns, were working on a
fire about 70 km (45 miles) east of Albury in New South Wales (NSW) when, it is believed, their truck rolled after being hit by strong winds, authorities said on Twitter.
The incident took the death toll from the country's raging bushfires to nine and added pressure on authorities to reconsider New Year celebration plans for the city of Sydney.