Tag Archives: oceania

Third teenager in building at start of Sydney fire assisting police

A third teenage boy who was in a heritage-listed factory as it burst into flames during Thursday's Sydney CBD fire is assisting police with their investigations into the blaze.

Police have confirmed they are speaking with the 12-year-old boy, as well as the two 13-year-olds who came forward yesterday. According to police, all three were in the building when the fire started.

The Surry Hills building was declared unsafe this morning after the front wall shifted 70mm overnight.

READ MORE: Drone footage shows extent of 'once in a decade' inferno

Sydney building fire and rescue nsw vision

Specialist teams have been monitoring the remaining Randle Street building walls with a laser and found it moved seven centimetres between Friday night and this morning.

Fire and Rescue NSW used a remotely piloted aircraft to assess the damage done to the building's structure, and also consulted with engineers and demolition experts to develop a safe plan for demolition.

An exclusion zone will remain in place for at least a week, as Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) fear the wall could fall at any moment or if there is a big gust of wind.

Firefighters remain on the scene to make ensure "shouldering fires do not break out and take hold."

READ MORE: What we know about heritage-listed factory destroyed by Sydney fire

Sydney building fire and rescue nsw vision

Fire and Rescue NSW said "light smouldering from deep within the rubble" was continuing but firefighters could not extinguish the spot fires as it was not safe after it was engulfed about 4pm on Thursday.

"An Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), commanded by NSW Police, has been stood up to coordinate the operations of the multiple agencies supporting FRNSW, including the making safe or demolition of the damaged buildings," Fire and Rescue NSW said in a statement.

READ MORE: New video emerges from before massive building inferno as Sydney road reopens

Sydney building fire and rescue nsw vision

Southbound lanes on Elizabeth Street have reopened with barricades in place to allow traffic flow but other streets surrounding the building will remain closed.

Approximately 70 residents who cannot access their apartments are being offered emergency housing by the Red Cross.

A new video emerged this morning of teenagers inside the abandoned and heritage-listed building just days before the blaze erupted.

No charges have been laid yet as police are still waiting for more young people to hand themselves in.

Police are yet to confirm if they have located two people who were known to sleep rough in the area.

READ MORE: Video shows moment wall collapses in Sydney blaze, sending fireball into sky

new looper Sydney fire

Yesterday the ten-alarm fire was described as a "once in a decade" inferno.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Paul Dunstan said firefighters did an "exceptional" job at working quickly to stop the spread and to get people out of danger, especially those on nearby rooftops, balconies and below on the street before the wall crumbled.

He said the dry timber framework stacked with plenty of airflow created the "perfect set of conditions for an intense fire".

More than 120 firefighters were called to the scene from multiple stations across Sydney, needing hours to contain the blaze with a combination of aerial and ground attacks.

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'Completely evil': Man who murdered girlfriend walks free on parole

Convicted killer William Harold Matheson has been released on parole after spending nearly 20 years behind bars for murdering his ex-girlfriend and shoving her body inside a cricket bag.

In 2006, Matheson was sentenced to 25 years in jail with a non-parole period of 18 years for brutally strangling his ex-girlfriend Lyndsay Van Blanken to death.

He was refused his first parole application in 2022, but his second was approved earlier this month before being released today.

READ MORE: Third teenager in building at start of Sydney fire assisting police

9News approached Matheson during his first day of freedom since being put behnid bars, but he refused to answer questions about his crime.

He strangled Van Blanken to death in 2003, when she was just 18 years old.

Six weeks later, her body was discovered in a residential apartment block in Sydney's Eastern suburbs after residents complained of a foul smell coming from the building.

Matheson had stuffed the 18-year-old's body inside a cricket bag and dumped it in the storage room of the Coogee apartment complex.

"He decided if he couldn't have her no one else could," Van Blanken's mother Cynthia told 9News.

She added the way she would describe is "as a monster".

"I think he's completely evil," she said.

"He has no conscious, he has no feelings and he's so smart."

READ MORE: Alleged armed robber charged after 24 hours on the run

While on parole, the convicted killer will be monitored 24 hours a day while he lives at his parents' Randwick home.

Matheson is banned from contacting the victim's family in any form and must comply with psychiatric medication and treatment.

He is also prohibited from visiting the Nambucca Shire, Hills Shire and Coffs Harbour local government areas.

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Alleged armed robber charged after 24 hours on the run

The man who allegedly held a firearms store at gunpoint has been arrested and charged by Western Australian police.

The man allegedly took a handgun into a Busselton firearms store at 8.50am on May 25, then threatened staff before taking off with a long-range rifle and another gun.

READ MORE: Serious crash kills four women, seriously injures fifth in rural Victoria

The 24-year-old had been on the run until police arrested and charged him.

He faced court today facing one charge of armed robbery, two counts of unlicensed possession firearm/ammunition, and one count of possessing a prohibited weapon.

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FBI documents reveal secret threat to 'harm Queen' during 1983 trip

The FBI has disclosed a potential threat to Queen Elizabeth II during her 1983 trip to the United States.

The documents were released this week on the FBI's records website. Queen Elizabeth II died last September after a 70-year reign.

The queen's West Coast visit with her husband, Prince Philip, included a stop in San Francisco in March 1983.

READ MORE: Building wall moves overnight as rubble continues to smolder

Park superintendent Bob Binnewies points out highlights from Inspiration Point to Queen Elizabeth II

The FBI said that a San Francisco police officer who frequented a bar popular with sympathisers of the Irish Republican Army had received a phone call in February 1983 from a man who claimed his daughter had been killed in Northern Ireland by a rubber bullet.

According to the documents, the man said he was going to “attempt to harm Queen Elizabeth” by either dropping an object off the Golden Gate Bridge onto the queen’s royal yacht or try to kill her during a visit to Yosemite National Park.

The documents said the Secret Service intended to close the bridge’s walkways as the yacht drew near.

READ MORE: Debt ceiling: US could run out of money to pay all its bills by June 5

US President Ronald Reagan and Queen Elizabeth II

The names of the officer and the caller were redacted in the documents, which did not indicate whether precautions were taken at Yosemite or whether any arrests were made.

A March 7, 1983, memo indicated the queen completed the U.S. visit “without incident” and that “no further investigation is warranted.”

The documents detailed other security concerns involving the queen's visits to various U.S. cities.

When she attended a Baltimore Orioles game with President George H.W. Bush in May 1991, several dozen demonstrators in the park chanted slogans condemning Britain’s policy in Northern Ireland.

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Two people killed in ute rollover crash in remote South Australia

Two people have died in a car crash in South Australia after a ute rolled over.

A female driver, 63, and a male passenger, 60, were killed when their Holden ute rolled while travelling on the Stuart Highway at Mount Willoughby at 11am on Friday.

The highway was closed between Marla and Coober Pedy while major crash officers investigated the scene.

READ MORE: New report reveals horrifying truth about vapes

Two people have died in a car crash in South Australia after a ute rolled over on the Stuart Highway

It has since been reopened.

The deaths mark the 55th and 56th lives lost on South Australian roads this year, compared to 33 at this time last year. 

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Serious crash kills four women, seriously injures fifth in rural Victoria

Four women have died and another has been seriously injured when their car came off the road in regional Victoria.

The car was travelling along Wannon-Nigretta Road outside Bochara in the state's west when the driver lost control this morning about 9.30am.

The car then slammed into a tree.

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Police officers on the scene after a fatal crash in country Victoria.

Four women in the car died at the scene.

A fifth has been taken to hospital with serious injuries.

Detectives from the Major Collision Investigation Unit are investigating the cause of the crash.

READ MORE: Software billionaire prevails in bidding war for $35 billion project

Police officers on the scene after a fatal crash in country Victoria.

The area has been cordoned off.

Bochara is a rural locality outside of Hamilton.

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