LONDON: Graphic footage from Australia showing hundreds of burnt animal bodies along a road in a town in New South Wales has gone viral.
A video released on The “New” Batlow Hotel Facebook page of a road in the town of Batlow littered with sheep and kangaroo carcasses has had more than 5.6 million views since Saturday.
Matt Roberts, a cameraman with television channel ABC tweeted: “Absolutely gut wrenching driving into Batlow this morning, never seen anything like it. Sorry to have to share these images… it’s completely heartbreaking. Worst thing I’ve seen. Story must be told.”
Huge wildfires have destroyed vast areas in the states of Victoria and New South Wales in recent months killing dozens and leaving thousands of people without homes.
Estimates from the University of Sydney put the death toll of mammals, birds and reptiles at 480 million since September, with the figure likely to rise as the fires rage on amid fears entire species might have been wiped out.
Ecologist Mark Graham from the Nature Conservation Council told Australia’s parliament the fires have burned “so hot and so fast,” which had led to a “significant mortality” of animals, particularly those that dwell in trees. “There is such a big area now that is still on fire and still burning that we will probably never find the bodies,” he added.
