Human Remains Recovered As Australia Bushfires Continue To Rage: Police

Last Updated:January 11, 2026, 14:13 IST

The bushfires have destroyed over 300 structures and burned 350,000 hectares. Human remains were found near Longwood. Jacinta Allan and Anthony Albanese lead emergency efforts.

Australia PM Anthony Albanese and Victoria's premier Jacinta Allan visited Bendigo Incident Control Centre to take stock of the situation. (Jacinta Allan/X)

Human remains were found in Australia’s southeast as the bushfires that continued have razed buildings, cut power to thousands of homes and burned acres of bushland, police said on Sunday.

According to Reuters, the blazes, burning out of control during a summer heatwave, have torn through more than 350,000 hectares (860,000 acres) of bushland in Victoria state since the middle of the week, destroying more than 300 structures, including homes, and leaving thousands without power.

The authorities said that this year’s fire are the worst to hit the southeast since the 2019-2020 Black Summer blazes that destroyed an area as big as Turkey and killed 33 people.

The Victoria police on Sunday issued a statement saying human remains have been found by a vehicle near the town of Longwood, about 110 km north of Melbourne. The victim has not yet been identified.

Reuters quoted Victoria’s premier, Jacinta Allan, saying more than 30 fires were burning across the state. Meanwhile, in the neighbouring New South Wales, which includes Sydney, several fires close to the Victorian border were burning at the highest danger rating, the state’s Rural Fire Service said.

Chief fire officer of Forest Fire Management Victoria, Chris Hardman, told Australian Broadcasting Corporation television: “These fires will not be contained before it gets hot, dry and windy again."

In a post on X, Jacinta Allan said a total fire ban was in place for Victoria as thousands of firefighters and more than 70 aircraft battled the blazes.

“Bushfire smoke is impacting air quality in many areas across Victoria, including metropolitan Melbourne," she said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the federal government would offer emergency funding to bushfire-hit residents and farmers who had the “extraordinary cost of undertaking immediate and emergency livestock fodder distribution".

“It’s estimated that thousands of head of cattle are likely to have been impacted," he said.

News world Human Remains Recovered As Australia Bushfires Continue To Rage: Police

Read More