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| Australia bushfires: Tasmania search for 100 'missing' | Australia bushfires: Tasmania search for 100 'missing' |
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| Australian police are combing towns in Tasmania looking for 100 unaccounted people following wildfires which have ravaged the south of the island state. | Australian police are combing towns in Tasmania looking for 100 unaccounted people following wildfires which have ravaged the south of the island state. |
| Tasmania's police commissioner has said that they fear some may have lost their lives in the fires. | Tasmania's police commissioner has said that they fear some may have lost their lives in the fires. |
| Almost 3,000 people have been evacuated from their homes, many stranded in emergency shelters. | Almost 3,000 people have been evacuated from their homes, many stranded in emergency shelters. |
| On Friday, Tasmania experienced its peak temperature since records began with levels hitting 41.8C. | |
| The national weather bureau has warned extremely hot conditions are expected across much of the country next week. | The national weather bureau has warned extremely hot conditions are expected across much of the country next week. |
| Acting Tasmania Police Commissioner Scott Tilyard said about 100 remained unaccounted for. | Acting Tasmania Police Commissioner Scott Tilyard said about 100 remained unaccounted for. |
| "That's not to say that those people necessarily have come to any harm, but obviously we can't totally eliminate that until we've had confirmed contact with those individuals," Mr Tilyard said. | "That's not to say that those people necessarily have come to any harm, but obviously we can't totally eliminate that until we've had confirmed contact with those individuals," Mr Tilyard said. |
| He said the crews, whose numbers have been swelled by relief teams from Victoria and South Australia, were expecting to find "one or more" people who had perished in the fires. | He said the crews, whose numbers have been swelled by relief teams from Victoria and South Australia, were expecting to find "one or more" people who had perished in the fires. |
| More than 40 fires are still burning. On Sunday, firefighters issued an emergency warning for residents of Taranna, 29 miles (47km) east of the state capital, Hobart, where a fire has been burning for more than three days. | More than 40 fires are still burning. On Sunday, firefighters issued an emergency warning for residents of Taranna, 29 miles (47km) east of the state capital, Hobart, where a fire has been burning for more than three days. |
| Prime Minister Julia Gillard is due to tour Dunalley on Monday, where more than 65 homes, the police station and a school have been destroyed in the small town, 56km east of Hobart. | Prime Minister Julia Gillard is due to tour Dunalley on Monday, where more than 65 homes, the police station and a school have been destroyed in the small town, 56km east of Hobart. |
| The BBC's Nick Bryant, in Sydney, says large swathes of south-east Australia are suffering from the worst fire conditions since the Black Saturday disaster almost four years ago, when 173 people in rural Victoria lost their lives. | The BBC's Nick Bryant, in Sydney, says large swathes of south-east Australia are suffering from the worst fire conditions since the Black Saturday disaster almost four years ago, when 173 people in rural Victoria lost their lives. |
| He says there has been a combination of a record-breaking heatwave, high winds and drought, with Tasmania by far the worst hit. | He says there has been a combination of a record-breaking heatwave, high winds and drought, with Tasmania by far the worst hit. |