Celebrated cameraman dies in Sydney fire

THE ABC has reported its former cameraman Les Wasley, 86, and his daughter Linda, believed to be in her 40s, died when a fire tore through their Bayview home in the early hours of Sunday.

Mr Wasley's son, an off-duty Narrabeen firefighter, spent the day in hospital with his mother, who made it out of the burning home with a suspected broken leg. Mr Wasley was a celebrated cameraman and cinematographer and was recently inducted into the Australian Cinematographers Society Hall of Fame. He worked as a news cameramen for the Nine Network before moving to the ABC in 1966 where he shot both documentary and news pieces. He covered many conflicts including those in Belfast, Lebanon and Vietnam. A NSW Fire and Rescue spokesman told AAP authorities might never know what caused the fire but think it may have started in a bedroom. "The damage and the destruction was too bad to be able to pinpoint (its cause)," the spokesman said. "We'll try and determine the cause but at this stage there's no way of telling." Two neighbours who tried to help were also taken to hospital - a woman with a suspected head injury and a man with an injured leg. The fire at the Valley Close house was extinguished shortly before 4.30am, but the flames spread to nearby bushland before being brought under control by Rural Fire Service crews.