<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Six people, including two police officers, have been shot dead after a suspected ambush at a remote Australian property.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Police said they had been searching for a missing person in Wieambilla - 270km (168 miles) west of Brisbane, Queensland - when they were fired upon.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">After a lengthy siege, three suspects were fatally shot by police. A motive remains unclear, authorities said.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called it a "heartbreaking day" for Australia.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Four Queensland police officers initially went to the property on Monday afternoon local time, after a request from New South Wales police.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Constables Matthew Arnold, 26, and Rachel McCrow, 29, were shot dead as they approached. Another officer suffered a "bullet graze" and the fourth escaped the property, police said.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">An unnamed neighbour, aged 58, was also killed by the suspects during the siege after going to investigate.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll described it as an "unimaginable tragedy" and the force's largest loss of life in a single incident in many years.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">"Those officers did not stand a chance. The fact that two got out alive is a miracle," she said after visiting the scene on Tuesday.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Mr Arnold and Ms McCrow were relatively new to the police force but both had earned a reputation for being committed and courageous, Ms Carroll said.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">"Both under 30 years of age. Both had wonderful careers and lives ahead of them," she said, visibly emotional.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">A group of 16 local officers had "bravely" tried to rescue the pair - hoping they were still alive - before specialist police arrived and took over the operation, she said.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The siege continued for hours, before the suspects - two men and one woman who have not been named - were shot.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">With investigations ongoing, Ms Carroll said she couldn't say if police were lured to the property, or comment on a possible motive. She said "many weapons" were used during the incident.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Local media reported that the officers were ambushed and Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers alleged they were killed "in cold blood".</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">"They were met by gunfire which was just relentless," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">"They were executed."</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Local MP David Littleproud said the attack had left his community "numb".</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">"[These] are small country towns where this sort of thing just doesn't happen," he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The deaths will be investigated by the coroner and the police response will be examined by the force's ethical standards command, in line with standard practice. BBC</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>