Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Wednesday saw several landmine explosions along the Line of Control (LoC). Officials said that the explosions were triggered by a forest fire that had started on Monday, and later spread to the Indian side in the Mendhar sector. The fire triggered the explosion of nearly half a dozen landmines that were part of the anti-infiltration obstacle system.
"The forest fire has been raging for the past three days. We along with the Army are dousing the fire. The fire was brought under control but this morning it started in Daramshal block and spread fast due to powerful winds", Forester Kanar Hussain Shah said.
He added that the blaze was later brought under control with the help of the Army as it reached near the border hamlet, he said. In the Rajouri district, another huge fire broke out in the Sunderbandi area near the border which spread to other forest areas, including Ghambhir, Nikka, Panjgraye, and Brahamana, Moghala, officials said on Wednesday.
The fire also erupted in Kalakote's Kalar, Ranthal, Chingi forests. "The fire came from across the border and also spread to LOC areas of Upper Kangdi and Dok Banyad", the official said.
The forest fires were brought under control, without a human loss, they said. Another massive fire broke out in the agriculture fields along International Border (IB) in the Jammu district, officials said.
The fire spread to several kilometers of the area close to the Beli Azmat border outpost (BoP) of the BSF, they said, adding it was brought under control.
(With PTI Inputs)
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