Forest worker dies after falling into gorge while fighting blaze in Uttarakhand's Chamoli

While fighting the blaze, Singh slipped from a cliff and fell into a 100-foot-deep gorge.The forest department launched a search operation after receiving news of the incident.

A 45-year-old temporary forest department employee died after slipping from a cliff while extinguishing a forest fire in the Badrinath Forest Division of Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, officials said on Thursday.

The incident occurred on Wednesday night in an area adjacent to the national highway between Chamoli and Birhi villages in the Chamoli range.

Fire watcher Rajendra Singh went to the spot with his team after receiving reports of a blaze in the pine forest. While fighting the blaze, Singh slipped from a cliff and fell into a 100-foot-deep gorge.

''The forest department launched a search operation after receiving news of the incident. We later recovered his body,'' Badrinath Forest Division Sub Divisional Forest Officer Jugal Kishore said.

The deceased fire watcher was a resident of nearby Pakhi village. The forest department deployed him temporarily for five months for fire prevention duties.

A similar incident had occurred in the state last month when another temporary forest worker died after slipping into a gorge while clearing dry leaves in Nainital.