Nine Trekkers Dead, Many Injured In Forest Fire On Kurangani Hills In Tamil Nadu, Rescue Operation Underway
Nine of the 37 trekkers, who got trapped in a massive forest fire on Sunday on the Kurangani hills in Tamil Nadu's Theni district.
Nine people reportedly lost their lives in a forest fire in Kurangani hills in Theni district in Tami Nadu. The fire enveloped the region on Sunday after a suspected cigarette butt left by one of the tourists sparked off the fire in the forest. While 27 people have been rescued so far, IAF choppers have been deployed to take out the people and shift them to the hospital as soon as possible.
As per the reports, a total of 37 tourists, mostly from Tamil Nadu had come there for trekking purpose. According to ANI reports, 16 soldiers of the Garud Commando Force and four choppers from the IAF, with one of them on standby, were taking part in the search and rescue operations.
BCCL
Theni District Collector Mariam Pallavi Baldev said, ¡°A total of 37 people in two separate groups reached Kolukkumalai for trekking on Saturday. They camped in an estate and were returning when the fire broke out in the forest. 15 people have received burn injuries.¡±
¡°The number of people rescued now stands at 27. People with serious burn injuries have been shifted to Madurai hospital for specialised treatment,¡± said Health Minister C Vijayabhaskar.
Most tourists were from Tamil Nadu and the trekking event was organised by Chennai Trekking club as a part of Women's Day celebrations. The trekkers comprised of 24 people from Chennai and a batch of 12 from Tirupur and Erode. There were 25 women and three children in the group. They arrived for trekking on Saturday. They were on their way back to Kurangani hills when they got caught in the fire.
The fire situation looked very serious but could be controlled, an official had told PTI on condition of anonymity. He also said the trekkers had not taken the permission or security for going to the deep forest area.
AFP/Representational Image
The Centre too has taken stock of the situation and defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman is in touch with CM Paliniswami. Sitharaman also directed the Indian Air Force to co-ordinate in the rescue operations.
In a series of tweets, she said on Sunday that two helicopters of the Indian Air Force from its Sulur base near Coimbatore were being sent to assist in the rescue operations.
Responding to the request from the Hon @CMOTamilNadu on the forest -fire related issue -20 students are caught in Kurangani, Theni district. Instructed @IAF_MCC to help in rescue and evacuation. The Southern Command is in touch with the Collector of Theni. @ThanthiTV @pibchennai
¡ª Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) March 11, 2018
"Responding to the request from the Hon @CMOTamilNadu on the forest -fire related issue -20 students are caught in Kurangani, Theni district. Instructed @IAF_MCC to help in rescue and evacuation. The Southern Command is in touch with the Collector of Theni," she said in a tweet. In another tweet around 7 pm, Sitharaman said she spoke to the Theni District Collector who informed her that 10-15 students were making their way to the foothills.
A medical team had been sent to the spot and employees of a nearby private tea estate were also assisting in the rescue operations, she said quoting the Collector.
TOI/Representational Image
Kurangani-Kozhukumalai hills are located near Bodinayakanur. Officials of forest, fire, police, medical and rescue teams had gone to the spot and were being assisted by the local tribals and employees of nearby tea estates.
