
Search resumes for plane missing in ‘rugged and inaccessible alpine terrain' after failing to land at NSW
The plane carrying just one person took off from Wangaratta in Victoria and was due to land at Moruya airport on the Far South Coast at about 4.30pm local time on Tuesday.
Emergency services were notified after the plane failed to land at the estimated time. The plane's last known position was over Khancoban in the Snowy Mountains, according to reports.
The NSW police believe the plane could have crashed about 500m off Dargals Trail in the Snowy Valleys, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
The plane's disappearance prompted a multi-agency search operation, which included the NSW police, wildlife and national parks crews.
Australian Maritime Safety Authority's (AMSA) Challenger jet, Victorian ambulance emergency medical helicopter and a toll rescue helicopter have been deployed to conduct an aerial search, the police said.
The multi-agency aerial search resumed on Thursday morning after it was suspended at around 4pm Wednesday due to limited visibility. 'The ground search teams will be faced with rugged and inaccessible alpine terrain, impacted by recent heavy snowfalls,' the AMSA said in a statement.
Temperatures in Khancoban dropped to around 5°C on Tuesday, the day the plane went missing, while conditions remained cold on Wednesday. Temperatures are forecast to fall further to 1°C on Thursday, with snow again possible above 1,000m, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
The missing small plane is reportedly a Beechcraft 35-C33 Debonair – owned by a man in Bega, NSW, about 120km south of Moruya. The single-engine four-seater had flown from Moruya to Frogs Hollow airstrip, south of Bega, on Sunday. The next day, the aircraft flew from Moruya to Wangaratta, according to the Border Mail.
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Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Wildfires burn through the night in Eastern Europe as over 50 blazes in Greece alone sees families evacuated from their homes
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Officials there confirmed that a second fire had got 'out of control', The Times reports, and was heading towards the town of Afrati at speed. The blaze caused a number of villages, including Pournos and Mistros, to have their electricity supply cut off thanks to ruined power lines and pylons. Six firefighters had to be rushed to hospital while 115 stayed on to tackle the blaze. Vassilis Vathrakogiannis, a spokesman for the fire brigade, said: 'Today is expected to be a difficult day with a very high risk of fire, almost throughout the territory.' He added that at least 52 new blazes had popped up in the preceding 24 hours, but insisted that the situation was getting better in some places. Crews continued to tackle fires on the islands of Crete and Kythira, as well as the Messinia region of the Peloponnese. In Chania, Crete, a huge fire caused damage to homes and a church. Meanwhile, teams on the tourist hotspot of Kythira attempted to extinguish a blaze which was said to have extended across half of the island, according to deputy mayor Giorgos Komninos. He added that homes, as well as natural habitats, had been destroyed. Near Athens's northern edge, a series of blazes had to be contained in the greater Attica region, with teams putting a stop to them by the end of the day. Amid the destruction, Greece has been forced into asking for emergency help via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, in the form of six firefighting planes. In the meantime, support crews from Italy and the Czech Republic were expected to land in the country late on Sunday. 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Twenty-six fires broke out throughout the country on Saturday, following a serious blaze near the southern Albanian town of Delvina on Friday, injuring three people and forcing the evacuation of around 2,000 locals. Overnight, flames obliterated the forested mountains surrounding Bursa city in northwest Turkey, shining a threatening red glow on the sky. It marked the latest city to be hit by deadly blazes this summer - as Cyprus also fell victim to aggressive wildfires amid unusually hot weather. The governor's office in Bursa said more than 1,760 people had been safely evacuated from villages to the northeast as around 2,000 firefighters battled the flames. The highway linking Bursa to the capital, Ankara, was closed off as surrounding forests burned. Orhan Saribal, an opposition parliamentarian for the province, likened the scene to 'an apocalypse'. Turkey has been hit by dozens of wildfires every day since late June - with Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yamukli revealing fire crews across the country approached 76 separate blazes on Saturday alone. The General Directorate of Meteorology said Turkey recorded its highest ever temperature - 50.5C (122.9F) - within the southeastern Sirnak province on Friday. The same day, homes and holiday properties burnt down in popular holiday hotspot Cyprus. A wide angle view shows smoke and flames rising as firefighting efforts continue after a forest fire, which was largely brought under control in the morning, reignites due to strong winds The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) updated its travel advice in response to the devastation on the island. Warning of 'active wildfires', the government highlighted the Paphos and Limassol districts as some of the affected areas, located in the south of Cyprus. It added: 'Transport and infrastructure (electricity, water) links in locations close to the fires may be affected whilst the authorities respond to the situation.' Though the FCDO noted the airports in Paphos and Larnaca are 'operating as normal'. 'If you are due to travel to an area that might be affected by wildfires, contact your travel operator or accommodation provider before you travel to check that it is not currently impacted. Make sure you have appropriate insurance,' the advice read. The Foreign Office also included recommendations for those in the area or affected by the wildfires. 'Be cautious if you are in or near an area affected by wildfires. You should follow the guidance of the emergency services,' it stated. 'Call the Cypriot Emergency services on 112 if you are in immediate danger. A firefighting helicopter operates in a burned area after a wildfire in the area of Kryoneri, in the suburbs of Athens, Greece, on Sunday Firefighters attempt to extinguish a wildfire as smoke and flames rise from a forested area in the Gursu district of Bursa early on Sunday The fires are being ignited by unusually high temperatures, alongside dry conditions and strong winds Smoke and flames rise from a forested area during the latest major wildfire in Turkey 'Contact your airline or travel operator, who can assist you with information relating travel back to the UK.' And on Saturday, British tourists were put on alert as Greece wildfires spread amid a 44C heatwave - as a blaze tore through the capital of Athens. The southern European country was first hit with the scorching temperatures on Monday and they have not relented throughout the week. After the mercury hit a blistering 44C high in Athens on Tuesday, a wildfire burned through a northern suburb of the capital on Friday. Shocking pictures showed homes ablaze while residents of the town of Kryoneri, 12.5miles northeast of Athens, received three SMS warnings to evacuate.


Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Rain bomb alert as mammoth weather system moves across Australia and temperatures plunge - as city records wettest day of the year
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Reuters
7 hours ago
- Reuters
Wildfires rage across Bulgaria, destroying forests and homes
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