oceania | FREENEWS

The death of a food delivery rider in Sydney yesterday has sparked trade unions calls for safer working conditions for transport gig workers.

The male motorcyclist, believed to in his 20s, died at the scene after colliding with a vehicle in the city's south-west yesterday.

Police said the collision occurred at the intersection of Allman and Lindesay streets in Campbelltown about 6pm.

The driver of a ute, a 30-year-old man, was taken to Campbelltown Hospital for mandatory testing.

The Transport Workers Union said today the motorcylist was the 13th food delivery rider known to have died in Australia.

National Secretary Michael Kaine said food delivery riders need safe working conditions and for pressures on them to be eased through transport reform.

"Food delivery riders currently have no rights like a safe and fair minimum wage, sick leave, protection against unfair contract terminations, and workers' compensation in the horrific event something goes wrong," he said.

"While nothing will compensate for the loss of 13 food delivery riders killed, we must act to stop more transport gig worker deaths on our roads, and to ensure all workers have access to safe working conditions and workers' compensation for themselves and their families."

The death yesterday came three weeks after food delivery driver Akshay Deepak Doultan was killed when he was hit by a car in north west Sydney.

Kaine called on Federal MPs to back safety reforms for the transport industry, including gig workers, when it comes before Parliament shortly.

Police have established a crime scene in Campbelltown which will be forensically examined by specialist police today.

A report will be prepared for the information of the Coroner.

Sign up here to receive our daily newsletters and breaking news alerts, sent straight to your inbox.

The grim work of tallying the dead after a ferocious wildfire on the Hawaiian island of Maui came into sharp focus on Saturday (local time) as crews picked through the devastation, marking homes with a bright orange X to signal they had searched for bodies and HR when they found human remains.

The inferno swept through the centuries-old town of Lahaina on Maui's west coast, reducing hundreds of homes to ash.

The state's chief executive said he expects more bodies to be found.

"There are already 80 fatalities. It's going to rise," Governor Josh Green remarked Saturday as he toured the devastation on historic Front Street.

"It will certainly be the worst natural disaster that Hawaii ever faced.

"We can only wait and support those who are living. Our focus now is to reunite people when we can and get them housing and get them health care, and then turn to rebuilding."

Those who escaped were counting their blessings, thankful to be alive as they mourned those who didn't make it.

Retired fire captain Geoff Bogar and his friend of 35 years, Franklin Trejos, initially stayed behind to help others in Lahaina and save Bogar's house.

But as the flames moved closer and closer Tuesday afternoon, they knew they had to get out.

Each escaped to his own car.

When Bogar's wouldn't start, he broke through a window to get out, then crawled on the ground until a police patrol found him and brought him to a hospital.

Trejos wasn't as lucky. When Bogar returned the next day, he found the bones of his 68-year-old friend in the back seat of his car, lying on top of the remains of the Bogars' beloved three-year-old golden retriever Sam, whom he had tried to protect.

Trejos, a native of Costa Rica, had lived for years with Bogar and his wife, Shannon Weber-Bogar, helping her with her seizures when her husband couldn't. He filled their lives with love and laughter.

"God took a really good man," Weber-Bogar said.

Bill Wyland, who lives on the island of Oahu but owns an art gallery on Lahaina's historic Front Street, fled on his Harley Davidson, whipping the motorcycle onto empty sidewalks Tuesday to avoid traffic-jammed roads as embers burned the hair off the back of his neck.

Riding in winds he estimated to be at least 112 kilometres per hour, he passed a man on a bicycle who was madly pedalling for his life.

"It's something you'd see in a Twilight Zone, horror movie or something," Wyland said.

Wyland realised just how lucky he had been when he returned to downtown Lahaina on Thursday.

"It was devastating to see all the burned-out cars. There was nothing that was standing," he said.

His gallery was destroyed, along with the works of 30 artists.

Emergency managers in Maui were searching for places to house people displaced from their homes.

As many as 4,500 people are in need of shelter, county officials said on Facebook early Saturday, citing figures from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Pacific Disaster Center.

Flyovers by the Civil Air Patrol found 1692 structures destroyed — almost all of them residential. Nine boats sank in Lahaina Harbor, officials determined using sonar.

The wildfires are the state's deadliest natural disaster in decades, surpassing a 1960 tsunami that killed 61 people.

An even deadlier tsunami in 1946, which killed more than 150 on the Big Island, prompted the development of a territory-wide emergency system with sirens that are tested monthly.

Hawaii emergency management records do not indicate warning sirens sounded before people had to run for their lives.

Officials sent alerts to mobile phones, televisions and radio stations, but widespread power and cellular outages may have limited their reach.

Fueled by a dry summer and strong winds from a passing hurricane, the wildfires on Maui raced through parched brush covering the island.

The most serious blaze swept into Lahaina on Tuesday and destroyed nearly every building in the town of 13,000, leaving a grid of grey rubble wedged between the blue ocean and lush green slopes.

Front Street, the heart of the historic downtown and the economic hub of Maui, was nearly empty of life Saturday morning.

An Associated Press journalist encountered one barefoot resident carrying a laptop and passport who asked where the nearest shelter was. Another, riding his bicycle, took stock of the damage at the harbor, where he said his boat caught fire and sank.

A fire engine and a few construction trucks were seen driving through the neighbourhood, but it remained eerily devoid of human and official government activity.

Some residents have expressed frustration about the difficulty of accessing their homes because of road closures and police checkpoints.

Maui water officials warned Lahaina and Kula residents not to drink running water, which may be contaminated even after boiling, and to only take short, lukewarm showers in well-ventilated rooms to avoid possible chemical vapour exposure.

The wildfire is already projected to be the second-costliest disaster in Hawaii history, behind only Hurricane Iniki in 1992, according to disaster and risk modelling firm Karen Clark & Company.

The fire is the deadliest in the US since the 2018 Camp Fire in California, which killed at least 85 people and destroyed the town of Paradise.

The danger on Maui was well known.

Maui County's hazard mitigation plan updated in 2020 identified Lahaina and other West Maui communities as having frequent wildfires and several buildings at risk.

The report also noted West Maui had the island's second-highest rate of households without a vehicle and the highest rate of non-English speakers.

"This may limit the population's ability to receive, understand and take expedient action during hazard events," the plan stated.

Maui's firefighting efforts may have been hampered by limited staff and equipment.

Bobby Lee, president of the Hawaii Firefighters Association, said there are a maximum of 65 county firefighters working at any given time with responsibility for three islands: Maui, Molokai and Lanai.

Riley Curran said he fled his Front Street home after climbing up a neighbouring building to get a better look. He doubts county officials could have done more given the speed of the onrushing flames.

"It's not that people didn't try to do anything," Curran said. "The fire went from zero to 100."

Curran said he had seen horrendous wildfires growing up in California.

But, he added, "I've never seen one eat an entire town in four hours."

Sign up here to receive our daily newsletters and breaking news alerts, sent straight to your inbox.

FREENEWS

Tag Archives: oceania

Arrests after Tūtira burglary and chase of stolen car

Rugby: A lesson for the Tuis

Strep A study: NZ exposed to ‘worldwide population’ of nasty bacteria

Labour tax policy: PM Chris Hipkins reveals removal of GST from fruit and vegetables, National leader Christopher Luxon responds

Dead dolphins found on Ruakākā Beach sadden locals

Climate change: What scientists just learned about NZ’s future cyclone risk

Union demands safer working conditions after food delivery rider's death

Crowds of adoring fans sing 'Happy Birthday' to Matildas star

Bright symbol on buildings signal search for bodies after deadly fires

The best costumes from this year's City2Surf