Sydney, Jan 23 (TIWN) Three people were killed on Thursday when a water-bombing plane fighting bushfires crashed into a large fireball in the Snowy Monaro area, south of the Australian capital, amid rising temperatures that have further fuelled the fires in the country.

The Lockheed C-130 Hercules, operated by Canadian company Coulson Aviation, was carrying a load of fire retardant when it went down near Cooma, south of the Australian capital, Canberra, according to the Rural Fire Service.