The forest fire in Theni. (pic via Twitter)TheNewsMinute quoting a local police official reports that at least 9 trekkers have been charred to death in a deadly forest-fire in Kurangani area in Tamil Nadu’s Theni district.
The trekkers, reportedly comprising of both students and IT professionals, were caught in the forest fire on Sunday (11 March) evening.
According to the report, the trekking group consisted of 37 people including 26 women, eight men and three children. They were trapped in the raging flames when they were coming down the slopes from Bodinayyakanur.
27 people from the trekking party were rescued, with many survivors reportedly in critical condition having suffered serious burn injuries. Six of the victims hail from Chennai while the other three are from Erode.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has been roped in for the rescue operations. 16 commandos of Garud Commando Force and four choppers from Indian Air Force are involved in the rescue operation since this morning with the operations still continuing.
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