Australian police Friday released a picture of one man suspected of lighting forest fires north of Melbourne and said they knew the identity of another suspect, dpa reported.
"Last night, we did in fact have two fires that were lit, and in one case we have a suspect that we're talking to," Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon said. "The other one we're very clear about who the person is."
At least 1,800 houses were razed, 450,000 hectares blackened and 7,000 people left homeless in fires at the weekend that started in the national parks that cover one third of the state of Victoria. Police are convinced that some of the blazes were the work of arsonists and have deployed 100 detectives to track down the perpetrators.
The official death toll from the fires stands at 181, but the final body count will be well over 200.
Nixon confirmed reports of looting in damaged and deserted properties.
"We're not seeing a lot of it, but we're seeing some of it," she said.
The fire that ravaged the town of Marysville was probably deliberately lit. Marysville, which had a population of 500, has only a dozen buildings left standing, and there are fears that up to one in five of its residents are dead.
Survivors who lost their homes and are living in tents and community halls have been offered free accommodation at five military bases in Victoria. The government is also giving cash hand-outs to the dispossessed and paying funeral expenses.
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