IAF uses chopper with Bambi bucket to douse forest fire in the Nilgiris

COIMBATORE: A major forest fire in the Nilgiris reserve forest continued to rage on Saturday despite seven days of firefighting efforts, prompting the forest department to seek help from the Indian Air Force (IAF).

On Saturday, an IAF Mi-17 V5 helicopter equipped with a Bambi bucket was deployed to douse the flames in the affected forest areas.

The fire first broke out in the Glenmorgan Reserve Forest seven days ago and later spread to the Singara region. More than 500 acres of reserve forest have been damaged.

Over 200 frontline forest staffers were deployed to contain the blaze, but steep terrain prevented them from reaching some of the worst-hit areas.

Following this, the forest department requested assistance from the IAF’s Sulur station in Coimbatore district.

The IAF helicopter collected water from Emerald dam, Moyar dam and Parsons Valley in the Nilgiris and dropped a total of 16,000 litres over the fire-hit zones on Saturday.

Despite the aerial operation, officials said the fire had still not been fully brought under control.