DELHI- Officials on Monday have said nine trekkers have died, 18 others were left with serious burns as wildfires swept through a popular hiking spot in India’s Tamil Nadu state.
The group of hikers were trekking through Theni district, the trail is known to have many hills, it is thickly forested and has many tea plantations, when they were forced to flee a fast-approaching fire in the southern India region.
The hikers were supposedly separated while trying to escape the oncoming blaze as they looked for a safe place.
Theni district official S. Kandasamy told AFP, “It seems that the victims deviated from the regular trail. This is a popular trekking spot,”
“Nine people lost their lives and 27 others were rescued.”
Kandasamy said of those rescued, 18 were injured, some were taken to hospital and were treated for severe burns over most parts of their bodies.
He added that the fire is still burning uncontrollable in the region which borders Kerala state some 540 kilometres (335 miles) from the Tamil Nadu capital Chennai.
The cause of the fire is still unknown and the incident is being investigated.
Indian Army have been enlisted to help douse the flames, the Press Trust of India reported.
Photo Credit- TimesLIVE
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