SYDNEY: Three people died when a light plane crashed in northern Australia on Saturday while helping fight bushfires, emergency services said.
The plane crashed near the outback town of McKinlay, 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) northwest of Brisbane, the Queensland state capital.
It is being used for fire mapping as more than a dozen fires burn across the state, officials said.
The cause of the crash is unknown and will be investigated by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
Australia is facing its busiest bushfire season since 2019-2020, when a series of out-of-control infernos ripped through the east coast, leveling forest swaths, killing millions of animals and blanketing cities in harmful smoke.
news source (www.brecorder.com)
