Australia fires: Canberra Airport shut down as blazes intensify
Australia fires: Three dead in Australia firefighting plane crash
(32 minutes later)
The airport in Australia's capital city, Canberra, has been shut down as bushfires threaten the region.
Three people have died when a firefighting aircraft crashed in Australia, authorities have confirmed.
Flights were cancelled out of Canberra Airport, a 20 minute drive from the city centre, as blazes raged nearby.
The large air tanker was reported missing in southern New South Wales shortly after 13:30 local time (02:30 GMT) on Thursday.
A heatwave sweeping the nation's south-east caused existing blazes to flare up again on Thursday, officials said.
Wreckage was found by emergency responders after a brief search.
Meanwhile there are reports a firefighting aircraft may have crashed in the Snowy Mountains, two hours south of the capital.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the plane crashed in the Snowy Mountains, two hours south of the capital, Canberra.
The New South Wales (NSW) Rural Fire Service said it had lost contact with the large air tanker shortly after 13:30 local time (02:30 GMT) on Thursday. Helicopters are searching the area and emergency services have rushed to the scene.
"Our thoughts and prayers and heartfelt condolences go to their families," she told reporters on Thursday.
There are more than 80 blazes raging across the state of NSW as hot and windy conditions return to the region.
"Today, again demonstrates the fire season is far from over."
In Canberra, officials issued emergency warnings urging people to stay away from the airport as two blazes threatened to breach the airfield's perimeters.
The NSW Rural Fire Service said the water-bombing aircraft had been deployed to fight a severe blaze in the region.
Authorities said the blazes threatening Canberra Airport had escalated after first appearing on Wednesday.
It was unclear what had had caused the plane to crash, said Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons.
The capital, located in an administrative region between Sydney and Melbourne, has had large fires raging on its outskirts for weeks.
This is a breaking news story - more to follow.
The city suffered the worst air quality in the world for several days earlier this year because of bushfire smoke.
Fire threat returns
Since September, Australia has battled an bushfire crisis which has killed at least 30 people.
More than 10 million hectares - an area almost the size of England - have been destroyed in blazes. The most affected states are NSW and Victoria.
Recent days of thunderstorms and rain across fire grounds had helped halve the number of blazes burning in the region since the start of the year.
However, fire chiefs warned that the sporadic rain would only provide short-term relief ahead of the return of dangerous conditions.
Temperatures in Sydney on Thursday soared past 40C (104F) in the city's west.
"We've got thousands of kilometres of fire perimeter," NSW Rural Fire Services Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told reporters on Thursday.
"All of the fires that we've still got, whether they're under control or are still being worked on, are going to be tested today."
By midday on Thursday, more than half a dozen blazes were burning at "emergency level" on the south coast.
