Seven people have died in the past 24 hours in the Australian state of New South Wales as blazing wildfires continue to tear through bushland and towns.

NSW police confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that three people had been found dead due to fires along the south coast, adding to four deaths that had been reported Tuesday.
Among the victims are a 63-year-old man and his 29-year-old son, who had stayed to defend their home from the flames in the rural township of Cobargo.

There are also people unaccounted for, including a man whose house burned down in Lake Conjola, in southern NSW.