A giant eruption in Rajasthan’s Sariska Tiger Reserve that started earlier in the day is more than 10 square kilometers, the size of about 1,800 football fields, officials said. Two Indian Air Force helicopters are dropping water over the affected area, they said.
The reactor threatened the territory of a tiger, codenamed ST-17 to be tracked by scientists, which is in the area with its two cubs, officials said. Big cats can also suffocate, experts say.
There are more than 20 tigers in Sariska Reserve.
Firefighters bring the situation under control. Two IAF helicopters were lifting water from Silisa Lake in Rajasthan and went missing over forest fire at Sariska, 43 km from the lake.
Three villages close to the tiger reserve have been alerted as the furnace did not die for more than 24 hours because of the wind.
Although the cause of the fire is not yet known, extreme heat has swept over the northern part of the country in recent days.
The IAF said in a statement that it had sent two Mi-17 V5 helicopters while the Alwar district administration sent an SOS to help control the fire “which had spread over a large area in Sariska.”
“The IAF has deployed two Mi-17 V5 helicopters for Operation Bambi Bucket. Operations are ongoing,” it said, referring to collapsible buckets suspended from a helicopter carrying out firefighting operations and used to lift and dump water or fire-fighting chemicals.
The hills and narrow valleys of Aravalli dominate the panorama of Sariska, whose forests are dry and deciduous. It is also home to many carnivores including leopards, wild dogs, jungle cats, hyenas and jackals.
In the 12 months ending in December, the country’s tiger conservation agency said 126 of the endangered big cats had died in 2021, the easiest considering it started compiling data a decade ago.
The previous best number of deaths per year was in 2016, when 121 people died.
India is home to 75 percent of the world’s tiger population.
