A 43-year-old woman and a one-year-old child perished in a forest fire in Theni district’s Rasingapuram, a village in Bodinayakanur taluk, here on Tuesday.
K. Vijayamani and her granddaughter, T. Krithika Shri, were part of a group of 10 estate workers who were returning from Pethotty in Kerala’s Idukki district.
The group, including six women and a child, were walking through dry canals when a forest fire engulfed them, said a Forest department official.
One of the stranded workers called the 108, the emergency number, around 2.30 p.m., said an official from the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services, and informed them of their location.
Members from the Fire and Rescue, Police and Forest Departments began the rescue operation around 3 p.m.
District Forest Officer S. Gowtham said while one person suffered burns, the others escaped with injuries.
Three fire tenders from Theni, Bodinayakanur and Uthamapalayam were engaged for six hours to fight the blaze.
The Theni District Forest department had banned trekking in the Kurangani hills on February 15 till the end of summer season. Forest fires start in January, increase in February and peak during March.
Twenty-three persons lost their lives in Theni’s Kurangani hills fire in March 2018.
The public can report fires to 04546-252552 or reach out to the disaster management team at 1077.
