Three people were killed in Western Australia after bushfires engulfed a convoy of trucks on a highway.
Police found the bodies of two adults and one child late on Sunday on the Great Eastern Highway, east of the state capital, Perth.
The victims were found in two burnt-out trucks, police said. Drivers of at least six other vehicles escaped.
The road had been closed several times over the weekend because of the fires, which have been blazing since Friday.
Police said that the convoy came through shortly after the road reopened on Sunday evening.
The trucks were driving west from the town of Coolgardie to Southern Cross, through an area of national park where the fires have been burning. One truck made it through to Southern Cross, its driver suffering burnt hands, police spokesman Graham Clifford said.
Drivers of the other trucks unhitched their trailers in order to make a quick return to Coolgardie, he said.
Police have not yet identified the three victims and an investigation is under way.
Since Friday, the fires have burned across more than 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) of land and are being fanned by strong winds and high temperatures, officials say. ( BBC )