Death toll in Australia bushfire rises to 20

By Zehra Nur Duz

ANKARA (AA) - One more person has died as massive bushfires rage over Australia’s South Coast, police confirmed Monday .

“The body of a man was found Monday between a property and a car, which had both been destroyed by fire,” New South Wales Police said on its official website.

The body, which has not been identified, is expected to be that of a 71-year-old man who was reported missing from Nerrigundah in the South Coast.

Police and rescue units have had difficulty reaching this area for several days due to dangerous massive bushfires.

“A second person remains missing from Bombala near the Victorian border,” police added.

The death toll from the fires has reached 20 as the emergency continues, it added.

Australia has been facing one of its worst bushfire season in its history, destroying hundreds of homes, tens of facilities and more than 2,000 outbuildings.

The bushfires started this August and continue to rage in the summer of the southern hemisphere.

Although bushfires are common in the country, this year they started in the south, instead of the usual north, and have so far gutted about 10 million acres of land.