Five children and a man are unaccounted for after fire tore through several homes on an island off the Queensland coast.
Emergency services were called to the blaze on Russell Island – southeast of Brisbane – about 6.20am on Sunday.
A home on Todman St had caught fire which quickly spread to two surrounding homes.
Five children and a man, who are residents at the property, are unaccounted for.
Aerial footage from the scene captures smoke billowing from the ruined homes as firefighters man hoses to dampen the structures.
“Upon arrival, the house was fully involved and multiple surrounding properties were damaged,” Queensland Police said in a statement.
“A crime scene was immediately declared and an investigation launched.”
Seven Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) crews were called to the blaze.
Firefighters are currently dampening down the structure and conducting searched for the missing persons, a QFES spokesman said.
A Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) spokeswoman said nine people were assessed on scene.
Two were taken to hospital, one to Redland and the other to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane.
More to come.