Firefighting plane crashes in Australia: 3 dead

Three people died when a firefighting plane crashed near the town of Cloncurry in the northwest of Australia's Queensland state.

According to ABC News, the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) said in a statement that the crashed plane was en route to Queensland state for use in the ongoing bushfires.

In a statement on the crash, Queensland state police reported that 3 people on board the firefighting plane that crashed near Cloncurry in the northwest of the state died. FIGHT AGAINST FOREST FIRES CONTINUES Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuki emphasized in a statement that most of the 83 fires in the state have been brought under control, but the risk remains in some areas where the fire continues.

The state's fire brigade officials had called on citizens living in Kinkuna, Goodwood, Colosseum, Carnarvon Gorge, Buckland, Consuelo, Rewan and surrounding areas to prepare for evacuation. Stating that approximately 24 thousand hectares of land was burned to ash, the authorities warned not to return to previously evacuated areas.

Fire brigade officials reported that 2 people lost their lives in forest fires in Queensland and New South Wales (NSW) states on October 26.