Indian Air Force deploys helicopters to douse fire in Sariska Tiger Reserve

The Indian Air Force used two helicopters to douse the fire that has been burning in the Sariska Tiger Reserve.

The Indian Air Force deployed two Mi17V5 helicopters at Alwar, Rajasthan on March 29 to douse forest fire in the Sariska Tiger Reserve. The district administration had made a request to the Indian Air Force seeking its help in dousing the fire.

The helicopters flew more than 10 hours during the day, dispensing more than 33,500 litres of water over the affected area.

The timely action taken by the IAF in close coordination with the civil administration and the forest department officials has prevented the fire from spreading any further.

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The fire erupted on Sunday due to unknown reasons and started spreading to surrounding areas. After the district administration and the forest reserve officials from the tiger reserve failed to control the fire, they approached the Indian Air Force.

The forest reserve officials feared that the tigress ST-17, which recently gave birth to two cubs, could be injured in the fire.