Missing woman, 81, whose house was burned to the ground by bushfires is found safe and well – as she reveals her family saved her from the flames
- Fears grew for the 81-year-old woman after her Conjola Park home was burned
- It was revealed on Wednesday the woman’s family rescued her from the blaze
- Seven people have died in the devastating bushfires ravaging the region
A woman thought to be missing after bushfires swept through her town has been found safe and well.
Fears grew for the 81-year-old woman after her Conjola Park home on the New South Wales South Coast was burned to the ground at 2pm on Tuesday.
But she was confirmed she was safe at 5pm on Wednesday.
A fire in nearby Bateman’s Bay. Many homes were destroyed in the South coast bushfire
Burning embers cover the ground as firefighters (back R) battle against bushfires around the town of Nowra
Seven people have died in the devastating bushfires ravaging the region.
The deaths include dairy farmer Patrick Salway, 29, and his father Robert, 63, who died trying to save their property in Cobargo, near Bega.
Young father and volunteer firefighter Samuel McPaul, 28, was also among those confirmed dead after he was killed by a fire tornado.
A 70-year-old man was found dead outside a home at Yatte Yattah, west of Lake Conjola, on Tuesday night, while another man’s body was found in a burnt vehicle on a road off the Princes Highway at Yatte Yattah Wednesday morning.
Samuel McPaul, 28, was also among those confirmed dead after he was killed by a fire tornado
Dairy farmer Patrick Salway (pictured with his wife, Renee), 29, and his father Robert, 63, who died trying to save their property in Cobargo
The body of a man was found in a vehicle on Wandra Road at Sussex Inlet about 11.30am Wednesday but is yet to be formally identified, while a seventh body was found outside a home Coolagolite, about 10km east of Cobargo, on Wednesday.
Beloved great-grandfather Mick Roberts, 67, from Buchan, in East Gippsland, was found dead at his home on Wednesday morning.
‘Today we have the three deaths. The police have confirmed at Yatte Yattah, a body found in a vehicle there, which is near Lake Conjola,’ NSW Police Force Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys told media on Wednesday afternoon.
The remains of burnt out buildings are seen along main street in the New South Wales town of Cobargo
The remains of burnt out buildings are seen along main street of Cobargo on the South Coast
‘One at Sussex Inlet, a body in a vehicle. And ambulance officers have told us about a body that they have located as well deceased.’
‘In terms of the situation down on the South Coast, we have three emergency operation centres operating locally up and down the coast that are dealing with any amount of local issues and doing their best to solve those problems for people down there.
Hundreds of properties have been destroyed since the flare-up on Monday night.
At least 176 homes were destroyed and another 50,000 left without power in the region.