Sydney (dpa) – A former volunteer fireman in Australia was found guilty Tuesday in the deaths of 10 people in an arson timed to make the most of bushfire conditions described at the time as “catastrophic.” The blaze set by Brendan Sokaluk, 42, on what has become known as Black Saturday in February 2009 also destroyed 150 homes and burned 36,000 hectares of land in the high country north of Melbourne. During the month-long trial in Melbourne, police said Sokaluk, whose car broke down near where the blaze started, laid two fires that ravaged the village of Churchill. “When the accused man arrives at that intersection, there's no fire,” prosecutor Ray Elston told the court. “No one else is suggested to be present. When he leaves, it's ablaze.” The fires from the Sokaluk case were among as many as 400 that burned on Black Saturday. In total, the fires claimed 173 lives, destroyed 2,000 properties and blackened 450,000 hectares. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/JVpxs Tags: Arson, Australia, Death, Firemen Section: Crime, Latest News, Oceana
