Several people were missing and feared dead Sunday after wildfires swept through the Australian island state of Tasmania, destroying more than 100 homes and forcing thousands to flee. Acting Tasmania police commissioner Scott Tilyard said officers were investigating several reports of missing persons after fires ravaged the south of the state. “I am fearful that someone may have died in this fire… it is a very distinct possibility still and I think people need to brace themselves that that may occur,” Tilyard told reporters, saying there were grave fears in a “handful” of cases. “Whilst we have had no known deaths associated with these fires at this particular point in time, I want to make it quite clear that it is still far too early to confirm that that is not the case,” he added. Police and troops were going door to door in the worst-hit towns of Dunalley and Boomer Bay to search for the missing and confirm no lives had been lost in conditions officials had described as catastrophic.
