Chennai: At least nine people died after they got trapped in a forest fire in Kurangani hills, said Theni district collector Mariam Pallavi Baldev on Monday morning.
Earlier, the Tamil Nadu government informed that 27 people had been rescued. Two groups comprising 36 trekkers got stranded after a fire broke out on Sunday evening.
“Nine persons are dead, while 17 of the rescued have been hospitalised and 10 did not require hospitalisation,” said commissioner of revenue administration K. Sathyagopal.
Baldev on Sunday night said a total of 36 people—12 from Erode and Tiruppur and 24 from Chennai—had gone for a trek to Kurangani hills. “Twenty five women, eight men and three children travelled to the region for a trek,” she said.
The Indian Air Force has deployed two helicopters and 16 commandos for the rescue operation. The forest departments, police, and local officials are also involved in the rescue operations, assisted by locals and employees of nearby tea estates.
A total of six teams are inside the Kurangani forest area to provide first aid to the victims, who are being shifted to government hospitals in Theni and Madurai districts.
“Among those rescued, six persons are very critical. While two have more than 90% burns others have 60% burns,” said health secretary J. Radhakrishnan, while briefing the media in Madurai.
Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami said the government would probe into the trekking expedition organised by a Chennai-based club, which did not claim proper approval from the forest department.
Following the Tamil Nadu incident, the Kerala government has banned trekking to forest regions until further notice. The measure is to prevent such tragedies in future, said chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan in an assembly session on Monday. The state will also conduct a safety audit in its wildlife sanctuaries following the incident, said forest minister K. Raju to television reporters. Already, a similar ban for trekking was existing in the forests of Wayanad district, anticipating heat waves and fires.
Kerala’s tourism department has issued strict warnings to tour operators against taking tourists to forest regions despite the ban.
Nidheesh M.K. contributed to the story