2 Filipinos killed in Australian wildfire - DFA
MANILA, Philippines - Two Filipino-Australian siblings were killed as wildfires raged on, engulfing million-dollar properties in Australia and leaving more than 170 people dead.
Interviewed over radio dzBB, Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Bayani Mangibin said Tuesday afternoon that the Philippine Embassy in Canberra reported the latest casualties to their office.
The Filipino casualties were siblings according to Mangibin, "one is 24 years old and the other is 22-years old."
Based on reports reaching him, Mangibin said the Filipino-Australian siblings - one male, one female - "perished at the brushfire that hit Victoria."
Until the relatives of the Filipinos are reached here in the Philippines, Mangibin said the Philippine Embassy cannot divulge the names of the victims.
As the number of casualties climb to more than 173 on Tuesday, the Australian Red Cross has set up a hotline for Filipinos and other people with relatives who may be affected by the Victorian bushfires there.
Concerned Filipino relatives may call the Australian Red Cross hotline on +61-3-9328-3716.
But a bulletin on the Australian embassy said the Australian Red Cross said callers to the hotline may experience delays due to the high volume of calls.
There are 250, 347 Filipinos in Australia as of 2007, data from the Commission on Filipinos Overseas showed. Of this number, more than 220,000 are permanent settlers while close to 20,000 are migrant workers.
Grasslands have been burning for weeks in the southeastern state of Victoria but turned deadly Saturday when searing temperatures and wind blasts created a firestorm that swept across a swath of the region, the Associated Press reported.
A long-running drought in the south — the worst in a century — had left forests extra dry and Saturday's fire conditions were said to be the worst ever in Australia.
Disaster officials found charred bodies on roadsides and in crashed cars — grim signs of the futile attempt to flee raging wildfires fed by 60 mph winds, record heat and drought that caught even fire-savvy Australians by surprise.
As the death toll rose Tuesday to 173 in Australia's worst wildfire disaster, suspicions that some of the 400 blazes were caused by arson led police to declare crime scenes in some of the incinerated towns, police Senior Constable Cendra Jackson said.
Firefighters battled more than a dozen blazes that burned out of control across Victoria state, although conditions were much cooler than Saturday. Forecasters said temperatures would rise later this week, posing a risk of flare-ups. - Mark Joseph Ubalde, GMANews.TV
Interviewed over radio dzBB, Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Bayani Mangibin said Tuesday afternoon that the Philippine Embassy in Canberra reported the latest casualties to their office.
The Filipino casualties were siblings according to Mangibin, "one is 24 years old and the other is 22-years old."
Based on reports reaching him, Mangibin said the Filipino-Australian siblings - one male, one female - "perished at the brushfire that hit Victoria."
Until the relatives of the Filipinos are reached here in the Philippines, Mangibin said the Philippine Embassy cannot divulge the names of the victims.
As the number of casualties climb to more than 173 on Tuesday, the Australian Red Cross has set up a hotline for Filipinos and other people with relatives who may be affected by the Victorian bushfires there.
Concerned Filipino relatives may call the Australian Red Cross hotline on +61-3-9328-3716.
But a bulletin on the Australian embassy said the Australian Red Cross said callers to the hotline may experience delays due to the high volume of calls.
There are 250, 347 Filipinos in Australia as of 2007, data from the Commission on Filipinos Overseas showed. Of this number, more than 220,000 are permanent settlers while close to 20,000 are migrant workers.
Grasslands have been burning for weeks in the southeastern state of Victoria but turned deadly Saturday when searing temperatures and wind blasts created a firestorm that swept across a swath of the region, the Associated Press reported.
A long-running drought in the south — the worst in a century — had left forests extra dry and Saturday's fire conditions were said to be the worst ever in Australia.
Disaster officials found charred bodies on roadsides and in crashed cars — grim signs of the futile attempt to flee raging wildfires fed by 60 mph winds, record heat and drought that caught even fire-savvy Australians by surprise.
As the death toll rose Tuesday to 173 in Australia's worst wildfire disaster, suspicions that some of the 400 blazes were caused by arson led police to declare crime scenes in some of the incinerated towns, police Senior Constable Cendra Jackson said.
Firefighters battled more than a dozen blazes that burned out of control across Victoria state, although conditions were much cooler than Saturday. Forecasters said temperatures would rise later this week, posing a risk of flare-ups. - Mark Joseph Ubalde, GMANews.TV
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