SYDNEY • Hundreds of koalas are feared to have burned to death in an out-of-control bush fire on Australia's east coast, the wildlife authorities said yesterday.

A bush fire believed to have been sparked by a lightning strike last Saturday, some 400km north of Sydney, has ravaged an area of more than 2,000ha. The authorities are battling to bring it under control.

Wildlife rescuers in northern New South Wales state hold grave fears for a "very rare" population of hundreds of koalas living in the fire zone.

"The special importance of those koalas is that they are very genetically diverse," Port Macquarie Koala Hospital president Sue Ashton told Agence France-Presse.

Her fears are that "hundreds" in the known koala breeding area "have perished in the fire".

"It's a national tragedy because this koala population is so unique," she added.

More than 70 fires continue to burn across New South Wales, which has been battling severe drought. The authorities say conditions are easing near Port Macquarie, where large air tankers are being used to battle the blaze.

Ms Ashton said wildlife volunteers would join firefighters in the area either today or tomorrow to assess the scale of loss and begin an operation to rescue the surviving koalas.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE