Two people have died and more than a hundred homes have been destroyed in a huge bushfire, Australian authorities said Sunday, as firefighters battled to tame the out-of-control blaze. The inferno - which has razed about 71,000 hectares (175,000 acres) in Western Australia state - is the most recent in a series of bushfires that have kicked off a hot summer season, with the latest deaths lifting the national toll to eight.
The two bodies were found in burnt-out houses in Yarloop, a historic mill town some 110 kilometres (70 miles) south of Perth that has been devastated by the bushfire - one of the worst to hit the region in recent years.
The bodies are believed to be those of two missing men aged 73 and 77, Western Australia Police told AFP.
"It's just another day of catastrophe, isn't it?" Tania Jackson, the head of the regional council, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation after news of the men's deaths. "Each day that has gone by seems to bring worse news. It's devastating."
The bushfire - which is entering its fifth day after reportedly being started by a lightning strike - has destroyed 143 properties, including 128 homes in Yarloop, the state's Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) told AFP. Some 250 firefighters are fighting the blaze, which has a perimeter of about 226 kilometres, and authorities said Sunday afternoon that it was "contained" within the fire zone, but not yet under control, amid cooler weather on Sunday.
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