Namibia's Etosha National Park, home to critically endangered black rhino, engulfed in huge fire

Namibia has sent more than 500 soldiers to help battle a huge wildfire that has burned across 30 per cent of the country's best-known national park.

The office of President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said Sunday that an unknown number of wildlife have been killed in the fire, which started last Monday and has spread across the vast Etosha National Park in Namibia's north.

An endangered black rhino grazes in Namibia's Etosha National Park in this 2015 file photo. The park is currently engulfed in a huge wildfire. (Martin Bureau/AFP via Getty Images)

The park is home to hundreds of species of wildlife, including critically endangered black rhinos. The president's office said the fire had also spread into villages on the outskirts of the park, but no human casualties have been reported.

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