Dairy farmer Patrick Salway, 29, and his father Robert, 63, are among those dead after they tried to save their property in Cobargo, near Bega. The third person confirmed dead was found in a motor vehicle in Yatte Yattah, west of Lake Conjola. Meanwhile, hope is fading for four people who have not been heard from in 24 hours in the Gippsland holiday region on the Victorian coast, following the deadly New Year's Eve blaze. There are 46 fires still burning and 43 properties have been destroyed in the popular holiday destination. After a day sheltering on the beach, tourists and locals in Mallacoota spent the night sleeping in a local cinema. Many spent New Year's Eve on the town's jetty and were told to be ready to get in the water at a moment's notice to keep safe. Those in the NSW holiday towns of Bateman's Bay and Bermagui also fled to evacuation centres or the beaches on Tuesday. A telecommunications outage left families unable to contact loved ones in fire-ravaged areas. 'No communication is a rarity in today's world so it's an uncomfortable feeling,' Melbourne man Nic Baxter told AAP on Tuesday evening, as he waited to hear from his father in Batemans Bay. Military aircraft and vessels are continuing to assist emergency services on Wednesday in New South Wales and Victoria. The New South Wales town of Cobargo, where a father and son died on Monday bravely battling to defend their homes, has been leveled. Commissioner of the NSW Rural Fire Service Shane Fitzsimmons said there were 'literally thousands of people taking refuge on the beaches' after being trapped by blazes. 'Fortunately, he is located in an area where I'm sure he is OK, but still very uncomfortable. NSW Police earlier confirmed all power had been lost from South Nowra to Moruya and 'potentially beyond', affecting at least 46,000 people and the supported telecoms network. Army Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters were deployed to rescue thousands stranded on a beach in the fire-ravaged area. US and Canada are understood to have been asked to provide 'specialist aviation resources' to help Australia's emergency efforts. On Tuesday Scott Morrison said the challenge posed by the bushfire crisis will remain into the new year but hailed the 'amazing spirit of Australians'. Thousands had signed a petition for it to be cancelled, while NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro called for funds to be redirected to drought and bushfire relief. Dozens of homes and a school have been lost in the Victorian towns of Buchan and Sarsfield, with more people missing in the state. Back in NSW, swathes of the south coast has left 300 Shoalhaven residents living in the Ulladulla Civic Centre. Waterbombing aircraft helped efforts to stop a 250ha blaze reaching residential homes at Blue Haven on the Central Coast. 'We'll have more conscience flights up ... along with the extraordinary firefighting effort,' NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told reporters on Tuesday afternoon. Meanwhile major roads, including several parts of the Princes Highway linking south coast communities, are likely to remain closed for some time due to hazards. Premier Gladys Berejiklian is expected to visit south coast communities on Wednesday after receiving a briefing at RFS headquarters. Nearby, the Princes Highway is still closed from Falls Creek to Milton, cutting off huge areas of the coast. Dairy farmer Patrick Salway, 29, and his father Robert, 63, died trying to defend their home from bushfires in Cobargo in the south east of NSW. The newlywed was expecting his first child. Meanwhile, incredible footage emerged of a NSW Fire and Rescue crew were dramatically shielded themselves inside a truck after it was encircled by a raging inferno.
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