Australian woman dies in backburning operation near Bathurst

May 29, 2006 A 42 year-old woman has died following an accident during a backburning operation on a farm at Black Forest, near Bathurst in New South Wales' central west. According to police the woman died after suffering burns to 98 percent of her body.

A backburn is carried out to reduce the amount of material that could fuel a fire during the bushfire season. In Australia, it is common for these backburns to be carried out this time of year, in preparation for the fire season.

At around 2PM on Sunday, the woman and a group of people were conducting the backburn on the property when the wind suddenly changed direction. The woman tried to move out of the fire's path but tripped when she was climbing a fence where she was engulfed by the fire.

The woman was rushed to Bathurst Base Hospital before being airlifted to the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney where she died at 1:30 a.m. today.