posted on February 12, 2009 20:54
Returning home to a pile of ash
As firefighters continue to battle blazes in southeast Australia, police have confirmed that they are searching for an arsonist who may be responsible for one of the deadliest fires.
Simon Overland, Deputy Commissioner of Victoria Police, said: "There has been a serial arsonist in this area for some period of time and we have been working on that. It's too early to say whether that person was responsible for the fire that happened on Saturday, but that's obviously something we will follow through."
Twenty-one people died and more than 100 homes were destroyed in the fire at Churchill in the Gippsland area.
Darren Chester, the MP for Gippsland, said there was “seething anger” among the local community that one of their own may be responsible for the devastation.
“We have a traitor in our midst,'' Mr Chester said. “As much as we pray for those who have perished, we hope their killer is brought to justice. Too many good people have lost their lives already. The heroes didn't deserve this.”
Scores of fires killed 181 people and destroyed more than 500 homes when they tore through 1,160 sq miles (3,000 sq km) of Victoria at the weekend. A 150-strong task force was set up on Tuesday to investigate the deaths.
Christine Nixon, the Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, said today that arsonists may have also been responsible for the fire that virtually wiped out the town of Marysville.
John Brumby, the Premier of Victoria, added a fire at Mansfield to the list of those being blamed on arsonists.
"There would seem to be no doubt at all that that fire's been deliberately lit. It's devastating," Mr Brumby said.
Chief Commissioner Nixon said that police had already spoken to some suspects.
As police continue to sift through the ashes of razed properties in search of the scores of people still missing after the fires, local communities are on high alert for looters, new arson attacks and the threat of more fires.
Two men were taken into custody today after reports of suspicious behaviour near Yea. They were released without charge.
Yea is about 12 miles north of Marysville, where up to 100 people may have died.
The Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, who today announced a national day of mourning, has accused people who deliberately light fires of “mass murder”.
“What do you say about anyone like that? There are no words to describe it other than mass murder,” Mr Rudd said on Monday. “This is of a level of horror that few of us anticipated.”
The federal Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, said that those who lit the bushfires could be charged with murder if caught.
Sophie Tedmanson in Sydney
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