NEW DELHI: Four forest officials were killed and four others suffered burns while extinguishing a fire at a wildlife sanctuary in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, officials said Friday.
The fire broke out at Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary under the Civil Soyam forest division in Almora district, about 370 km east of Dehradun, the capital city of Uttarakhand.
According to forest department officials, an eight-member team rushed to the spot to extinguish the fire on Thursday evening. However, strong winds exacerbated the flames, resulting in the death of four team members and serious burns to the other four.
The injured were airlifted to a hospital.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has expressed grief over the incident, and given instructions to the top forest department officials to immediately control the forest fire in Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary with the help of the Air Force.
The officials have attributed the resurgence in forest fires in the state to the hot and dry weather.
Reports quoting the Uttarakhand forest fire bulletin said seven incidents were reported in the last 24 hours in which 4.5 hectares of forest were affected.
Last month, five people were killed in forest fires in Almora and Garhwal districts of the state.
