‘Remarkable’: South Australian surfer with serious shark bite injuries swims to shore and walks 300m

Man, 29, says shark bite at Kangaroo Island’s D’Estrees Bay was ‘like being hit by a truck’

Paramedics have hailed the “remarkable” survival story of a South Australian surfer who swam back to shore alone and walked 300 metres for help after suffering “extraordinary” injuries from a shark bite at a remote beach.

Paramedic Michael Rushby said the man had “serious” lacerations on his back, backside and leg “consistent with quite a large shark bite”, but managed to haul himself to safety.

Continue reading...

A billion animals: the Australian species most at risk from the bushfire crisis

Fires take an enormous toll on wildlife, with huge numbers of mammals, birds, reptiles and insects killed

Australia’s continuing bushfire crisis has taken an enormous toll on wildlife, with huge numbers of mammals, birds, reptiles, insects and other species killed.

The ecologist Chris Dickman has estimated more than a billion animals have died around the country – a figure that excludes fish, frogs, bats and insects.

Continue reading...

Australia bushfires: firefighters injured amid push to contain blazes

An off-duty volunteer firefighter in New South Wales was seriously injured protecting his own property and another four also injured

Australian firefighters are preparing to use one week of calmer conditions to contain the most volatile parts of bushfires that are threatening private property and destroying large swathes of national parks in eastern Victoria and southern New South Wales.

The state of disaster in Victoria lifted at midnight on Saturday morning after firefighters managed to slow the progress of a 60,000ha fire that threatened the Alpine townships of Bright and Harrietville in north-east Victoria on Friday night.

Continue reading...

Australia bushfires live: NSW and Victoria survey damage as fires merge to form new ‘megablaze’ – latest updates

This liveblog is now closed

We will leave our coverage of the ongoing bushfire crisis here for the night. A mercifully quiet day on firegrounds across the country.

Here is where things stand:

We have a bit more information about the man who was burned while defending his property near Tumbarumba in New South Wales yesterday.

The man was an RFS volunteer, but he was not engaged in RFS work yesterday. Instead, Guardian Australia understands, he was driving a quad bike around his own property defending against spot fires when he received burns to his leg.

Continue reading...

Australia bushfires: towns face anxious wait as strong winds drive fires

Alpine areas of Victoria and NSW among those most under threat, while climate protesters take to the streets in major cities

Thousands of climate protesters flooded the streets of Australian state capitals on Friday night as fire authorities warned of another dangerous night ahead in four states.

Firefighters in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia continued to battle fires, with gusty winds expected to create hazardous firefighting conditions late into the night.

Continue reading...