Fires surround Rosedale residents stranded on beach

Footage filmed in Australia's southeast coast where deadly bushfires continue to rage shows blazes burning metres away from residents stranded on a beach.

The residents can be seen sitting on the sand as several fires burn in bushland and surrounding houses backing onto the beach in the New South Wales South Coast town of Rosedale.

In recent days, residents have fled to the shoreline as bushfires threatened their properties.

In the neighbouring state of Victoria, a military operation began on Thursday to evacuate thousands of people stranded on coastal beaches.

In total 17 people have been killed, more than 1,400 homes have been destroyed and about 5 million hectares (12.35 million acres) of land has burned since September.