Five Trekkers Dead In Massive Forest Fire In Tamil Nadu, 30 Rescued

Theni, Tamil Nadu:  Five of the 39 trekkers who were trapped in a massive forest fire that broke out in southern Tamil Nadu on Sunday have died. Thirty of them, mostly students, have been rescued and taken to hospital. The five trekkers died of burn injuries, officials said. Search and rescue operations for the other missing trekkers are on. The Indian Air Force, which has been pressed into service for rescue operations, is sending a helicopter to the affected area.

A fire broke broke out in Kurangini hills in Tamil Nadu's Theni district when a group, which had 25 women and 3 children, went on a trek organised by the Chennai Trekking Club. The group was trapped in forest fire on their way back on Sunday. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman instructed the air force to help in rescue and evacuation after a request from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palanisamy. Theni borders Kerala's Thekkady, home to the famous  Periyar National Park.

"30 of the 39 trekkers trapped in the fire on a hillock have been located and being taken to the foothills for treatment," a senior police office in the region, Baskaran, told NDTV. A team of Kerala police has also been sent to Theni for the rescue efforts.

"We are carrying all the injured to the foothills to begin treatment at the earliest," Pallavi Baldev, the District Collector said. A few of those rescued have severe burn injuries and have been moved to government hospitals in Madurai, 75 km away.

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The trekkers - included a group of 27 people from Chennai and a batch of 12 from Erode and Tirupur - were on their way back from a trek to the Kurangani hills, when they were trapped in the fire. The initial rrescue effort was started by locals and forest officials.

A senior police officer told NDTV on Sunday that the students who had gone for trekking "did not take permission from police or the forest department".