Marysville, Victoria Still Sealed After Fires - Authorites Fear 100+ Additional Deaths In Town

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KINGLAKE - 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 on Wednesday. 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 firefighter 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. "You have to go street by street, house by house. There are many houses that have collapsed," said Victoria state Police Commissioner Christine Nixon, adding it would take weeks to complete the search.

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