Human remains have been found in Australia as bushfires continue to rage on in the country.
The fires have razed buildings, cut power to thousands of homes and burned swathes of bushland in the southeast over the past few days.
The human remains were found next to a vehicle in Longwood, around 70miles north of Melbourne.
Police said the victim has not yet been identified.
The fires come during a summer heatwave, which has torn through more than 860,000 acres of bushland in Victoria state since the middle of the week.
The blazes have destroyed more than 300 structures, including homes, leaving thousands without power.
Authorities have described the fires as the worst to hit the southeast since the Black Summer blazes in 2019 and 2020, which destroyed an area the size of Turkey and killed 33 people.
Victoria’s premier, Jacinta Allan, said more than 30 fires were burning across the state.
In the neighbouring New South Wales, which includes Sydney, several fires close to the Victorian border were burning at the highest danger rating, according to the Rural Fire Service.
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Its chief fire officer said it would take firefighters weeks to grapple with the blazes.
Mr Hardman told Australian Broadcasting Corporation television: “These fires will not be contained before it gets hot, dry and windy again.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government would offer emergency funding to residents impacted by the bushfires.
