SYDNEY, Dec 31: Three Australian men were killed and another injured when a bushfire engulfed their vehicles as they travelled along a remote highway in the outback of Western Australia, police said on Monday.

Police said the men died on Sunday night after their trucks were apparently mistakenly allowed through a road block set up to keep motorists away from an intense fire burning about 600km east of Perth.

Police said the bodies were found in the trucks.

West Australian Premier Alan Carpenter said details were still sketchy but police were investigating the circumstances surrounding the accident.

“I can’t imagine a worse circumstance to befall people,” Carpenter told reporters.—AFP