Surviving residents of Marysville, where up to 100 more people are feared killed in Australia's bushfires, are still being kept out of town to shield them from traumatic scenes there, authorities said today.
The rising death toll in Australia's deadliest bushfires now stands at 181, but could exceed 200, authorities say. If the Marysville deaths are confirmed, the toll may reach 300.
A fire-fighter who drove through Marysville only 10 minutes before the firestorm hit on Saturday night said people banged on the side of his water tanker, begging his team to help people trapped in burning houses.
"The toll is going to be massive," fireman John Munday said.
Victoria state Premier John Brumby said Marysville, which has been off-limits since the weekend fires, would remain so because of the likelihood of ghastly sights in the once idyllic town.
"There are still many deceased people in homes," he said, adding between 50 and 100 may be dead in Marysville.
"If people return to those areas ... and there are still deceased persons there ... the impact would be quite devastating."
Forensic police sifted through ash and the twisted remains of houses in Marysville, Kinglake and other towns razed by fires trying to identify the hundreds killed.
Some of those killed were burnt so badly by fires that reached four storeys high they may never be identified.
The fires tore through rural towns north of Melbourne on Saturday night, fanned by strong winds and heatwave temperatures.
Melbourne's temperature on Saturday hit 46.4 degrees, a record for the city.
The disaster area, more than twice the size of London and encompassing more than 20 towns north of Melbourne, has been declared a crime zone. The fires have burnt 1,033 homes and left 5,000 people homeless.
More than 4,000 fire-fighters are still battling some 33 fires in Victoria state, with 23 of those still out of control.
Police have launched the nation's biggest arson investigation, "Operation Phoenix," and posted a A$100,000 (€50,560) reward for information leading to the conviction of anyone for deliberately starting a bushfire.
The tragedy is the worst natural disaster in Australia in 110 years. The previous worst bushfire was the Ash Wednesday fires of 1983 that killed 75 people.
Reuters