Funeral of Australian boy who died for his brother

A 13-year-old victim of Australia's flooding was buried alongside his mother yesterday after becoming a national hero for insisting that rescuers first save his younger brother when their car was trapped by a raging torrent of water.

Jordan Rice's younger brother Blake was plucked to safety, but he and his mother were swept to their deaths as rescuers tried to reach them. "The fire of my heart will continue to burn until it's my time to join them," Jordan's father, John Tyson, told more than 350 mourners, including Blake, who attended a funeral service in the flood-ravaged city of Toowoomba. The flooding in north-eastern Queensland, which swamped two-thirds of the giant state, left 30 people dead.

Families were urged to leave their homes in the state of Victoria yesterday amid fears of further flooding.