Australian Fires: Death Toll reaches 171

Victoria fires death toll leaps to 171

Herald Sun
February 10, 2009 01:47am

WHOLE towns have been declared crime scenes as the toll from Victoria's worst natural disaster leapt to 171.
But Premier John Brumby says the Victoria fires emergency will get worse before it gets any better.

"We've still got fires that are not contained," he said.

"There is a huge effort to get them under control.

"Tragically, we will have more deaths later this week."

There are fears the tragedy will have claimed more than 200 lives by the time police complete their searches of towns wiped out by the blazes.

The bushfire death toll has now reached 171 dead, a police spokeswoman confirmed about 1am this morning as police try to account for the people who perished in the fires.

Authorities say they are shocked by the sudden leap in numbers as more discoveries come to light, with early indications that the numbers leapt amid the discovery of clusters of bodies.