Coimbatore: As the fire in the Madhukarai forest range of Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore district continued to blaze since April 11, the Indian Air Force (IAF) chopper Mi-17 helicopter was pressed into service to douse the forest fires on Sunday (April 16). The IAF chopper lifted water in the bucket to douse a forest fire in Coimbatore.
"Information was received at HQ Southern Air Command about a forest fire in the Madukkarai Range of Coimbatore Forest Division. At first light on April 16, the Mi-17 V5 helicopter of AF Stn Sulur was pressed into 'Bambi Bucket' operations for dousing the fire," IAF said.
Meanwhile, the IAF chopper lifted the water in a bucket to douse fire in Nande Gounden Padur forest in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore. The IAF chopper has done seven sorties since morning on Sunday and doused 10 hectares of fire. It carried 3,000 litres of water in each sortie, lifted from the Malampuzha dam in Kerala.
On Saturday a recce was conducted at the affected areas by a chopper from the Sular Air Force station and frontline staff were deployed at the reserve forest to put out the fire, a district forest officer said. On April 11, the fire was detected in the Madukkarai forest range of the Coimbatore Forest Division after which several efforts are made to douse the fire.
Coimbatore District Collector, Kranthi Kumar Pati, and senior Forest Department officials have been overseeing the operation of the IAF chopper in dousing the forest fire that was threatening the entire forest area of Madhukkarai forest range.
The dry grass in the forest area had caught fire during heavy summer and were coming down the steep hills like burning fireballs leading to the fire's spread.
(With agencies input)
