SYDNEY: A helicopter crashed while fighting a bushfire in northernAustralia on Wednesday and the pilot managed to survive with only minorinjuries, officials said.
“The helicopter crashed during waterbombing operations at the Pechey firetoday,” a Queensland Fire and Emergency Service spokesperson told AFP.
A rescue helicopter was sent to the scene and the pilot was treated forminor injuries, a Queensland Ambulance Service spokesman told AFP.
“We transported one male with non-life-threatening injuries to ToowoombaHospital,” the spokesman said.
The pilot is now in a stable condition.
The bushfire at Pechey, north of Toowoomba, was sparked on Tuesday and is”getting worse”, according to the fire service.
Firefighters on the ground have been battling the blaze with support fromaerial waterbombers.
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Queensland is on high alert amid severe fire conditions, with a forecastwind change expected to worsen several large blazes in difficult-to-accessareas of the state.
About 70 fires are burning in the state, with Pechey residents told thesafest option is to leave the area as conditions are currently toodangerous.
Dozens of fires are also ablaze in neighbouring New South Wales state,where cooler southerly winds have eased conditions and brought relief tofirefighters and residents.
Difficult conditions were expected to flare again at the weekend as thetemperature rises and winds pick up. – APP/AFP
