Heartbreaking photos show burnt bodies of koalas, kangaroos and sheep line the road in Batlow, one of the towns hit by devastating bushfires.
Horrific scenes were caught on camera as people returned to New South Wales town. As smoke fills the air around the popular apple-growing area, the Batlow road is lined on both sides with burnt bodies of kangaroos, koalas, and sheep.
“Absolutely gut wrenching driving into Batlow this morning, never seen anything like it,” ABC cameraman Matt Roberts wrote on Twitter, adding: “Sorry to have to share these images… it’s completely heartbreaking. Worst thing I’ve seen. Story must be told.”
Only meters away from the roads lined with koalas, kangaroos and other marsupials, paddocks are filled with lifeless sheep.
Batlow Hotel shared a video showing piles of bodies of sheep, where only hours earlier the animals had tried to break down fences to save their lives.
47-year-old David Harrison passed away defending the home of his pal.
Mr. Harrison, who went to Batlow to help his friend Geoff fight the fire, suffered a heart attack after going back to a vehicle to refill water to fight the blaze. He is remembered as a hero.
His brother, Peter, said to 9News that Mr. David Harrison would ‘do anything for anyone.’
“He didn’t want to leave Geoff on his own. He was just that sort of guy. He would help anyone at the drop of a hat – he would drive hours to help you,” he said. “He’s a hero in our eyes.”
Mr. Harrison also said that Geoff and David had planned to leave but he believes they were ‘overcome with the heat, smoke, exhaustion and running around putting out spot fires everywhere.”
NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told reporters at RFS headquarters: “It was an awful day yesterday. It was a very difficult day.
“We are getting reports that the property losses, the damage and destruction, is likely to be numbering in the hundreds as a result of yesterday’s fire activity and fire spread.
“We’re talking a considerable number, a considerable impact.”
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