Three killed as water tanker plane crashes while fighting Australia wildfires

Three people have died as a water tanker plane crashed while fighting wildfires in Australia.

The C-130 Hercules aircraft came down over the Snowy Monaro region of New South Wales state on Thursday, officials said.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirmed the three deaths and crash, which came as Australia attempts to deal with an unprecedented fire season that has left a large swath of destruction.

"The only thing I have from the field reports are that the plane came down, it's crashed and there was a large fireball associated with that crash," said Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons.

He said all three aboard were US residents.

"Unfortunately, all we've been able to do is locate the wreckage and the crash site and we have not been able to locate any survivors," he said.

It comes as Canberra Airport was shut down because of nearby wildfires, and residents south of Australia's capital were told to seek shelter.

The blaze started Wednesday but strong winds and high temperatures caused conditions in Canberra to deteriorate.

A second fire near the airport that started on Thursday morning is at the "watch and act" level, officials said.

"Arrivals and departures are affected due to aviation firefighting operations," the airport authority said in a tweet.

Australia fires - In pictures

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Another tweet from traffic police said "the fire is moving fast and there are multiple road closures in the area. Please avoid the area. Local road blocks in place."

Residents in some Canberra suburbs were advised to seek shelter and others to leave immediately.

"The defence force is both assisting to a degree and looking to whether that needs to be reinforced," Defence Minister Angus Campbell told reporters.

"I have people who are both involved as persons who need to be moved from areas and office buildings that are potentially in danger, and also those persons who are part of the (Operation) Bushfire Assist effort," he said.

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