Mourners at scene of fire, memorial service to be held tomorrow
The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that the Irish woman still missing following a fire at a backpackers hostel at Childers in Queensland is 24-year-old Julie O'Keefe, who went to Australia in January to join her brother David. Her family said her passport has been found in the hostel so they assume she was there when the fire happened. A second Irish person who was thought to have stayed at the hostel has contacted home and is safe and well.
Australian police are currently seeking a man seen leaving the Palace Hostel in Childers, north of Brisbane, shortly before it burst into flames in a fire believed to have killed 15 backpackers. Rescue workers have so far located fifteen bodies from the wreckage of the building.
Many of the dead are believed to be European. It is feared that six Britons, three Australians, three Dutch, one Korean and one Japanese were killed. Three people who were reportedly staying in the hostel are still missing.
Mourners laid flowers on a bench in front of the charred remains of the hostel and left messages to the young backpackers who lost their lives in the blaze. The Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, is due to attend a memorial service for the victims tommorrow. The state of Queensland will observe a day of mourning on Monday.
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