A massive fire has broken out in Rajasthan's Sariska Tiger Reserve and has spread to across a sprawling expanse of over 10 sq km and Indian Air Force (IAF) choppers have been deployed to control the flames, according to officials.
At the behest of Alwar Dist admin to help control the spread of fire over large areas of #SariskaTigerReserve, @IAF_MCC has deployed two Mi 17 V5 heptrs to undertake #BambiBucket ops.
Fire Fighting Operations are underway since early morning today.#आपत्सुमित्रम pic.twitter.com/HhGEHsdYrS
— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) March 29, 2022
The two IAF helicopters have been scooping up water from Rajasthan's Siliserh Lake and dropping it over the forest fire in Sariska which is 43 km from the lake.
The fire has engulfed the territory of a tigress, codenamed ST-17 for tracking by scientists, which is at the area with her two cubs, officials said. There are over 20 tigers in the Sariska reserve.
The IAF in a statement said they sent two Mi-17 V5 helicopters after the Alwar district administration sent an SOS to help control the fire "which had spread over large areas in Sariska."
The IAF has deployed two Mi-17 V5 helicopters for Bambi bucket ops. The operations are ongoing," it said.
These special buckets are used for lifting and dumping water and fire-retardant chemicals to douse flames.
Three villages near the tiger reserve have been put on alert as the fire didn't die down for over 24 hours due to strong winds that fanned the flames.
While the cause of the fire is not known, there has been an intense heat wave in the northern parts of the country in recent days.
Also read: Madhya Pradesh leads in tiger deaths, Maharashtra at 2nd spot and Karnataka is 3rd
