The Air Force used two Mi-17 V5 helicopters to douse a forest fire at Mukkunimala Hill in Kerala, which also houses its radar on the top.
The operation was undertaken yesterday when the fire broke out at Mukkunimala Hill, some 10 kms east of the airfield at Trivandrum.
"Due to lack of rain in the region, first forest fire occurred in the hills on February 18. The same was put out by employing domestic fire tenders of IAF and Kerala Fire Service.
"The fire, however, continued to reoccur due to thick and dry vegetation. On February 21, Kerala state government requested IAF for assistance in terms of employing helicopters to douse the forest fire at Mukkunimala," the IAF said in a statement.
Two Mi-17 V5 helicopters which undertook the operation, flew a total of five sorties and dropped 62,050 litres of water to douse the forest fire. By last evening the fire was fully doused.
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