Contact lost with firefighting plane in New South Wales, Australia

The Australian authorities have lost contact with a firefighting plane in the southeastern state of New South Wales (NSW), the regional Rural Fire Service said on Thursday.

Australia is currently witnessing the worst wildfire disaster in its history, with many planes fighting the blazes.

"The NSW Rural Fire Service is investigating reports of a serious incident involving an aircraft in southern NSW this afternoon. Contact was lost with a Large Air Tanker which was working in the Snowy Monaro area. Local ground crews indicate the aircraft may have crashed," the service wrote on its Twitter page.

The authorities added that a number of helicopters were involved in the search and rescue operation.