WA: More people may have been trapped in fire that killed three

AAP General News (Australia)
12-31-2007
WA: More people may have been trapped in fire that killed three

By Liza Kappelle and Nicolas Perpitch

PERTH, Dec 31 AAP - Three men died and another was injured when an inferno engulfed
their truck convoy in the West Australian Goldfields after they were told it was safe
to drive through a bushfire.

Police found their bodies in two of three burnt-out trucks amid a one kilometre stretch
of blackened trailers, melted aluminium and twisted metal on the Great Eastern Highway
between Southern Cross and Coolgardie about midnight.

They were among up to 15 trucks allowed through a roadblock at 8pm (WDT) yesterday
even though a potentially dangerous weather change was expected at 9pm (WDT).

Some trucks made it through to Southern Cross, where one man is believed to have been
treated for burns.

Seven others unhooked their trailers when the fire struck 75 km east of Southern Cross
and fled back to Coolgardie in their prime movers.

Deputy Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said police believed all people involved had
been accounted for.

The families of the three men, believed to be from WA, were being notified, he said.

The highway, the main conduit for trucks between WA and the rest of Australia, had
been blocked on and off all throughout yesterday because of the wildfire in a section
of Boorabbin National Park.

Traffic was only allowed through in convoys under police or Department of Environment
and Conservation (DEC) escort.

But at 8pm (WDT) the road was opened, the waiting trucks rolled west and three became
trapped when the earlier than expected weather change turned the fire towards them.

The wreckage was very distressing, a Seven Network reporter told Southern Cross Broadcasting
from a helicopter above the site.

"You can really see the ferocity of this fire has come through ... the people stuck
in their vehicles obviously had no chance," he said.

"It is an absolute scene of devastation.

"It's blackened scrub ... there's melted aluminium sitting on the road."

WA Premier Alan Carpenter said it was too early to say who was to blame, with details
still sketchy about the chain of events.

Police are investigating for the state coroner, who will decide whether or not to hold
an inquest into the loss of life.

"I can't imagine a worse circumstance to befall people," Mr Carpenter said.

"Three people have lost their lives, another man is injured, it is an unbelievable
circumstance that we have been confronted with, people must be grieving terribly."

DEC director general Keiran McNamara said the experienced fire incident controller
was very distressed about his decision to open the road, a call he made some time before
8pm after consultation with other agencies.

Truck driver John Savage said he was lucky to get through.

"The heat was so unbelievable," Mr Savage told the ABC.

The road remained closed today as firefighters continued to battle the blaze which
has destroyed more than 10,000 hectares since Friday, downing powerlines and threatening
the water pipeline.

Lee Lewis, manager of the Caltex Southern Cross roadhouse, said the mood of the town
is very sombre.

"Most people coming in are subdued," Mr Lewis said earlier today.

"The wind was crazy yesterday and last night, it was very gusty, blowing a gale. It
can quickly change direction on people."

Trucks bound interstate were banking up in Southern Cross or turning back to Perth, he said.

AAP lk/cjh/mn

KEYWORD: BUSHFIRES WA NIGHTLEAD

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