Nine trekkers have died in a forest fire on the Kurangani Hills in Tamil Nadu, the District Collector said on Monday.
A rescue operation with the help of the Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters has been underway since Sunday. A total of 27 trekkers were rescued from the fire in picturesque Theni district, some 520 km from here.
The trekking group of eight men, 25 women and three children had camped at a place up in the hills on Saturday night. They were supposed to return on Sunday.
Earlier, in a tweet, Union Minister of State for Finance and Shipping Pon Radhakrishnan expressed grief and shock at the loss of life of those who were caught up in the blaze.
The Minister said he was praying for the fast recovery of those who were injured. He also thanked Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for deploying the IAF team in the rescue effort.
According to a Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services official, the operation was expected to be over by Monday afternoon.
Speaking to IANS, District Collector Pallavi Baldev said the operations were continuing and the trekkers were being brought down by the rescue team members.
A temporary helipad has been set up at the Bodi foot hills. The injured have been admitted in hospitals in Madurai and Theni, she said.
The night climate was generally chilly while efforts were afoot to reach the stranded trekkers caught up in the blaze, the fire official added.
State Health Secretary J.Radhakrishnan said six of the rescued admitted in a Madurai hospital have suffered serious burn injuries.
The IAF commando team had flown in from the Sulur Air Base near Coimbatore late on Sunday and climbed up the hills.
Sitharaman had confirmed on Sunday that the commandos deployed in the rescue mission would carry medicines and provide medical assistance on spot.
Having access to advanced communication facilities, the IAF team was also deputed to check the landing facility for helicopter.
They decided on the best ways to evacuate those stuck on the hill, including the injured.
Speaking to the media on Sunday, Baldev had said that 24 trekkers from the Chennai Trekking Club and 12 from Erode and Tiruppur had gone up the Kurangani Hills.
The adventure was part of the Woman's Day activity that was celebrated on Thursday.
A Tamil Nadu Forest Department official had said that the organisers had not obtained any permission for the trekking mission.
Braving the scorching heat, Tripura East records over 80 pc turnout
Despite the scorching heat, over 80 per cent of the 14 lakh voters cast their votes in the Tripura East Lok Sabha constituency where polling was held under a heavy security cover on Friday.
NCPCR initiates action against Mehbooba Mufti for 'using school children for election campaign'
In a significant development, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on Friday took cognisance of a report on 'X' accusing PDP President and Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat candidate Mehbooba Mufti of using school children for campaigning in the election.
PM Modi takes opposition to cleaners on EVMs, once again
Calling it a "historic day", Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday lauded the Supreme Court's decision to dismiss a batch of petitions seeking mandatory cross-verification of the votes cast in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips.
LS Poll: Over 1000 villagers did not cast vote; shows protest against bad road condition, improper drinking water facility
Over 1000 villagers of Maldapara of Gandacherra subdivision in Dhalai Tripura district on Friday boycotted the second phase of polling to East Tripura constituency and refrained from casting their vote as part of their agitation against bad condition of road in their village.
PM Modi roasts Cong, says former PM's video on 'priority for Muslims' demolishes its canards
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday stepped up his offensive on the Congress and said that his plainspeak on the party’s double standards has ruffled many feathers in the INDIA bloc, so much so, that they have launched a tirade at him for speaking the truth.
CBI recovers huge cache of arms, explosives from house of Shahjahan’s relative at Sandeshkhali
The CBI on Friday afternoon conducted a raid at the residence of a relative of suspended Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan at Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas District and seized a huge cache of firearms and explosives.
Tripura records 54.47% turnout recorded till 1 PM in 2nd phase polling to East
The second phase of polling for the East Tripura Parliamentary constituency is underway amid tight security coverage, while 54.47% voter turnout was recorded till 1 pm on Friday. Voting commenced at 7 am and will continue until 6 pm. Tripura recorded the highest turnout at 36.42 per cent till 11 am.
DMs, SPs of violence-hit MP districts transferred
The farmers agitation entered its eighth day on Thursday. The peasants have been on strike since June 1, demanding loan waiver and fair price for their produce.