4 U'khand forest workers killed while extinguishing fire in wildlife sanctuary
June 14, 2024 01:24
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Four forest workers were killed and four were injured while extinguishing a fire at the Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary under the Civil Soyam Forest Division in the Almora district of Uttarakhand, officials said on Thursday.
The deceased were identified as Binsar range forest 'beat' officer Trilok Singh Mehta, 'fire watcher' Karan Arya, Provincial Armed Constabulary Jawan Puran Singh and daily wage worker Diwan Ram, they said.
According to Civil Soyam forest divisional officer Dhruv Singh Martolia, the incident occurred around 3.45 pm when eight forest workers were sent to extinguish a fire that had broken out at the Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary.
Martolia said that as soon as the team got down from their vehicle, the fire escalated due to strong winds and four of the workers were charred to death.
Meanwhile, the other workers were injured and rushed to Haldwani Base Hospital for treatment.
In a post on X, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said, "Very heartbreaking news has been received about the death of 4 forest workers due to forest fire in Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary. In this hour of grief, our government stands with the families of the deceased and is committed to provide all possible help. An ex-gratia amount of Rs 10 lakh has been announced to the families of each deceased." -- PTI
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