Ten people hailing from Chennai, who were caught up in a forest fire on Sunday in Kurangani forests in Theni district of Tamil Nadu, where they had gone for trekking illegally, died of burns.
The rescue operations which began by Sunday evening continued up to Monday noon, according to Sethu, deputy superintendent of police, Theni, who was engaged in rescuing those who were trapped in the forest fire while trekking from Munnar in Kerala to Theni in Tamil Nadu. Speaking to The Pioneer over telephone from Theni, Sethu said there were 36 persons, mainly women in the team of the ill-fated trekkers. “The Garud commandoes of the Indian Air Force who were pressed into service at the instance of Union Defence Minister Nrmala Sitaraman, had to walk miles through the forest to reach the area engulfed by the wild fire. Three helicopters of the IAF were pressed into service. They brought back 27 persons while 10 dead bodies were brought back by another the IAF helicopter,” he said.
Edappady Palaniswamy, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, told reporters at Salem on Monday that 17 persons with burn injuries have been admitted to hospitals in Theni and Madurai. He said that the Government has ordered a full-fledged probe into Sunday’s forest fire tragedy.
The Chief Minister also disclosed that the team undertook the expedition without getting the mandatory permission from forest officials.
The trekking was organised by Chennai Trekking Club, a private institution based in Chennai. Nothing is known about the CTC or its organisers though the club was in the news for activities like beach cleaning and turtle walks. “The trekking they organised in the Theni forests was illegal as they had no permission to undertake such a trip. Trekking is banned in these areas because of frequent forest fires,” said O Panneerselvam, Deputy Chief Minister who rushed to Theni on hearing about the mishap.
Details about the number of persons who got killed in the fire and those who were rescued were released only after 0300 hrs on Monday.
The wild terrain of the Western Ghats made any kind of communications difficult in the area.