Madurai: Two teams of 37 trekkers, together with 26 women and 3 youngsters, got trapped in a woodland fire in the Kurangani hills near Bodi in Theni district on Sunday. Preliminary reviews stated 5 of them are useless and some are missing. However, the Theni administration has ruled out any deaths and stated some have suffered burns.
An IAF commando workforce provided with GPS devices has joined police, fire service and woodland personnel in the huge rescue operations which are proceeding in the course of the evening.Union Defence minister Nirmala Seetharaman tweeted round 11 pm that the IAF commando workforce would trek to the spot the place the trekkers are trapped.
The workforce will also explore the option of achieving the spot in choppers and hiking down the usage of ropes.
A Chennai-based trekking club had organised the expedition from
Kozhukkumalai to Bodi in the Western Ghats. A 24-member staff had gone from Chennai. The two teams began the trek on Friday evening and reached the Kerala facet of the woodland via Saturday. They began the trek from Kozhukkumalai on the Tamil Nadu border on Sunday morning. They had been supposed to reach Bodi via evening and go back and forth again to Chennai from Theni. However, via afternoon the trekkers had been stuck in the woodland fire.
The woodland department is clueless concerning the expedition because the club had not got its permission for the trek. Conservator of woodland, Madurai circle, R Ok Jegania stated it used to be an unlawful trekking expedition. “As preliminary knowledge, now we have learnt that 5 trekkers are useless and some are missing. Our body of workers participants are coordinating the rescue operations uphill,” he stated.
Forest department assets stated from the spot that they had been attempting their easiest to deliver the injured downhill. Around 16 of them had been taken to other places. The evening is changing into kick back and they've been coated with blankets. “First assist groups have come up, and we are attending to the injured individuals. We are trying to take them down with the assistance of native villagers, however the process is difficult,” a woodland department body of workers member stated.
Theni district superintendent of police Baskaran stated the focus is now on rescue measures. “They are stuck in between, requiring a 12km trek. There is indubitably strict measures will likely be taken in opposition to the organisers of this trek, however our center of attention now's rescue of all injured trekkers,” he stated.
Theni collector Pallavi Baldev advised journalists that all govt equipment has been pressed into motion. Rescue operations had been expedited.
“As of now, I have not got any knowledge on loss of lifestyles. Fifteen other people have suffered burn accidents,” she stated.
She stated the crowd reached Kozhukkumalai on Saturday morning and camped in an estate. They had been returning when the woodland fire broke out. The staff panicked and got scattered.
Talking to newshounds in Salem, chief minister Edappadi Ok Palaniswami stated the federal government would order a probe into the trekking expedition organised via the Chennai-based club with out approval from the woodland department.
He stated the federal government is taking all efforts to rescue the trekkers. “The state govt has approached the Union defence minister for help in rescue efforts. Helicopters had been pressed into service,” he stated.
R Vijayalakshmi, an employee of IT company Cognizant, who used to be in the staff stated they spotted the fire lower than 100 yards away.
She advised TOI on the phone that till they saw it up shut they had no idea that a fire used to be raging in the hills.
"Within moments the fire encircled us. We panicked. Some in the group, including me, started running uphill," she stated."I jumped over a small rock and hid under it. There were two others who fell over me but they suffered worse burn injuries," she stated.
As the summer time has set in, woodland fires had been reported in the region prior to now one month. Forest department staff had been combating the fires off and on. “This trekking expedition is illegitimate and they did not know the native forests. We appeal to the general public to exercise warning whilst removing such trekking and test if the organisers have got prior permission,” stated Jegania.
An IAF commando workforce provided with GPS devices has joined police, fire service and woodland personnel in the huge rescue operations which are proceeding in the course of the evening.Union Defence minister Nirmala Seetharaman tweeted round 11 pm that the IAF commando workforce would trek to the spot the place the trekkers are trapped.
The workforce will also explore the option of achieving the spot in choppers and hiking down the usage of ropes.
A Chennai-based trekking club had organised the expedition from
Kozhukkumalai to Bodi in the Western Ghats. A 24-member staff had gone from Chennai. The two teams began the trek on Friday evening and reached the Kerala facet of the woodland via Saturday. They began the trek from Kozhukkumalai on the Tamil Nadu border on Sunday morning. They had been supposed to reach Bodi via evening and go back and forth again to Chennai from Theni. However, via afternoon the trekkers had been stuck in the woodland fire.
The woodland department is clueless concerning the expedition because the club had not got its permission for the trek. Conservator of woodland, Madurai circle, R Ok Jegania stated it used to be an unlawful trekking expedition. “As preliminary knowledge, now we have learnt that 5 trekkers are useless and some are missing. Our body of workers participants are coordinating the rescue operations uphill,” he stated.
Forest department assets stated from the spot that they had been attempting their easiest to deliver the injured downhill. Around 16 of them had been taken to other places. The evening is changing into kick back and they've been coated with blankets. “First assist groups have come up, and we are attending to the injured individuals. We are trying to take them down with the assistance of native villagers, however the process is difficult,” a woodland department body of workers member stated.
Theni district superintendent of police Baskaran stated the focus is now on rescue measures. “They are stuck in between, requiring a 12km trek. There is indubitably strict measures will likely be taken in opposition to the organisers of this trek, however our center of attention now's rescue of all injured trekkers,” he stated.
Theni collector Pallavi Baldev advised journalists that all govt equipment has been pressed into motion. Rescue operations had been expedited.
“As of now, I have not got any knowledge on loss of lifestyles. Fifteen other people have suffered burn accidents,” she stated.
She stated the crowd reached Kozhukkumalai on Saturday morning and camped in an estate. They had been returning when the woodland fire broke out. The staff panicked and got scattered.
Talking to newshounds in Salem, chief minister Edappadi Ok Palaniswami stated the federal government would order a probe into the trekking expedition organised via the Chennai-based club with out approval from the woodland department.
He stated the federal government is taking all efforts to rescue the trekkers. “The state govt has approached the Union defence minister for help in rescue efforts. Helicopters had been pressed into service,” he stated.
R Vijayalakshmi, an employee of IT company Cognizant, who used to be in the staff stated they spotted the fire lower than 100 yards away.
She advised TOI on the phone that till they saw it up shut they had no idea that a fire used to be raging in the hills.
"Within moments the fire encircled us. We panicked. Some in the group, including me, started running uphill," she stated."I jumped over a small rock and hid under it. There were two others who fell over me but they suffered worse burn injuries," she stated.
As the summer time has set in, woodland fires had been reported in the region prior to now one month. Forest department staff had been combating the fires off and on. “This trekking expedition is illegitimate and they did not know the native forests. We appeal to the general public to exercise warning whilst removing such trekking and test if the organisers have got prior permission,” stated Jegania.
37 trekkers trapped in Bodi hills forest fire, five feared dead
![37 trekkers trapped in Bodi hills forest fire, five feared dead]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
March 12, 2018
Rating:
