NEWS::::::::::::::::Pilot dies battling New South Wales fires A plane fighting bushfires in the Australian state of New South Wales has crashed, killing its pilot, as the military faced criticism for starting one of the major fires. The water-bombing plane crashed near Ulladulla, south of Sydney. Meanwhile the military said it was co-operating with a fire services probe that found an exercise using live ordnance started the State Mine fire. NSW has been battling bushfires for days, amid high temperatures. Officials have yet to release the identity of the pilot, who was the only person aboard the aircraft. His family has been informed of his death. Its a tragedy for the fire-fighting community, said NSW Rural Fire Services Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons. No intention Thousands of firefighters have been mobilised to tackle the fires, and on Wednesday the state came through what officials had said would be a very dangerous day because of weather conditions. Thursday brought cooler weather but more than 60 fires are still burning. Worst-hit has been the Blue Mountains area, to the west of Sydney, where many homes have been destroyed and some residents evacuated. The State Mine blaze, near the Blue Mountains town of Lithgow, was seen as a serious cause for concern earlier in the week. Fire chief Shane Fitzsimmons said an investigation had found it was ignited by live ordnance. It wasnt deliberate, it was a side-effect of a routine activity ... and clearly there was no intention to see fire start up and run as a result of that activity, he said. Acting Defence Minister George Brandis said the military take this issue very seriously and continue to fully co-operate with the NSW authorities, including the NSW Police, who are investigating the fire. Acting Chief of Defence Air Marshall Mark Binskin subsequently offered an apology, saying: What I do know to date is it was an explosives activity, it was a demolition activity in support of our people that train for operations around the world. Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill said the military should have known better. I would have hoped on a day like that which was a dry day, a hot day, with the winds, the Australian military would have known it wasnt a good time to be igniting. So far the NSW fires have destroyed more than 200 homes and left one man dead.
Posted on: Thu, 24 Oct 2013 09:18:02 +0000
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