SYDNEY: The police in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) confirmed on Friday that two 13-year-old schoolchildren have handed themselves in over a major blaze that destroyed buildings in central Sydney, reported Xinhua.
“We are aware of reports overnight of a group of young people who were seen running from the scene of the fire shortly after 4 pm,” said NSW police acting Assistant Commissioner Paul Dunstan at a press conference on Friday morning.
Dunstan said the two teenagers handed themselves in at two separate police stations in the late hours of Thursday night and are now assisting police investigations.
“I can confirm that we are aware of a further three or four other young people who were present during the fire,” he said, asking them to come forward with their parents.
NSW Fire and Rescue acting Commissioner Jeremy Fewtrell also briefed reporters on the latest developments regarding the fire, which broke out in a multi-story building in Surry Hills at about 4 pm local time on Thursday, which was later upgraded to a “10th alarm” status, the most severe type of fire.
“There was extensive damage to the two buildings involved in the fire, resulting in structural collapse.”
Fewtrell said extinguishing the remaining pockets of the fire was “quite challenging” due to the debris from the collapsed buildings. – BERNAMA-XINHUA
