Sydney – A volunteer firefighter died Monday while fighting bushfires that are raging across eastern Australia, the Rural Fire Service reported.
The firefighter died when his fire truck overturned at Jingellic, 70 kilometres east of the New South Wales town of Albury, the RFS said in a statement on Twitter.
It is the third death of a volunteer firefighter since the fires broke out in October. Ninety per cent of the firefighters battling the hundreds of blazes along the east coast are unpaid volunteers who leave their work to defend their communities.
Two other firefighters suffered burns in the incident. It is believed their truck rolled after being hit by extreme winds.
“A brave firefighter has lost their life protecting the community east of Albury. Words fail at times like this,” New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Twitter.
