By Michael Perry
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian police said they were questioning a MAN (MAN.XE)on Friday over the nation's deadly bushfires, which killed 181 people, but local media said he had been arrested and was expected to be charged with arson causing death.
"Police are currently speaking to someone over the Churchill fire," a police spokesman said. At least 21 people died in the Churchill fire.
Fairfax newspapers said the man was expected to be charged with arson causing death and would appear in court later on Friday, but no charges had yet been laid.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has described Australia's deadliest bushfires which swept through the southern state of Victoria on Saturday as "mass murder."
Authorities say the toll is expected to rise beyond 200 as more bodies are discovered in the charred remains of houses in the southern state of Victoria.
One razed town, Marysville, sealed off to the public due to the horrific scenes there, may contain 50 to 100 more dead, authorities say. That would bring the toll to around 300.
Australia has launched its biggest arson investigation, "Operation Phoenix," believing at least one or more of the fires may have been deliberately lit.
Police detained two men on Thursday but later released them.
Thousands of firefighters on Friday continued to battle blazes in Victoria, with some 20 fires still burning, many out of control. Forty-four public schools across the state were closed on Friday due to the bushfire threat.
The disaster area, more than twice the size of London and encompassing more than 20 towns, has been declared a crime zone. The fires have burnt 1,831 homes and left 7,000 people homeless.
The tragedy is the worst natural disaster in Australia in 110 years.
(Editing by Jeremy Laurence)
