Skip to main content
Global Edition
Friday, March 29, 2024

Australian firefighters mourn colleagues killed in bushfire

Duration: 00:57s 0 shares 3 views

Australian firefighters mourn colleagues killed in bushfire
Australian firefighters mourn colleagues killed in bushfire

The funeral took place Tuesday for a 36-year-old firefighter killed along with a colleague on December 19 after a burnt tree fell in the path of their firetruck, causing it to roll.

A third firefighter was killed in a separate incident in late December in what authorities described as a "fire tornado."

Dozens of Australian firefighters formed a guard of honor and stood with hand on heart outside a church on Tuesday (January 7) to bid a solemn farewell to colleague Andrew O'Dwyer, one of three volunteers killed in recent blazes.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who has faced some criticism for his response to the fires, attended the funeral in Sydney.

Fires have razed more than 8.6 million hectares (21.3 million acres) of land across Australia, killing 25 people and destroying or damaging thousands of homes, most in the southeast.

You might like