NSW bushfires: Death toll rises to 21 after Cobargo man, 84, dies from burns
The death toll from NSW's unprecedented bushfires has climbed to 21 following the death in hospital of an elderly man burned in Cobargo on New Year's Eve.
The 84-year-old was taken from his home on Tuesday December 31 to South East Regional Hospital before he was transferred to Concord Hospital in Sydney where he died in the early hours of Saturday.
A resident of Cobargo surveys the rubble of his burnt-out home after the Badja Forest Road fire tore through the township. (9News) 9NEWS
It is believed the man had been trying to save his property when he and his dog were overwhelmed by the flames.
"A report will be prepared for the coroner," a NSW Police spokeswoman told AAP on Sunday.
He is the third man from the township of just 776 people to die in the fires.
Robert Salway and his son Patrick also died defending their at property at Wandella, 20 km north-west of Cobargo on the same day.
The Badja Forest Road fire near Cooma moved rapidly eastward on New Year's Eve amid catastrophic weather conditions, devastating the small community and destroying around 50 homes.
29-year-old Patrick Salway (right) and his wife Renee. Facebook
The 21 deaths have occurred across NSW since October as a result of the devastating bushfires that have burned through more than five million hectares and destroyed more than 2100 homes.
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