One more forester injured in wildfire dead

One of the two foresters, who have been battling for life at a medical college hospital here

after getting injured while dousing a wildfire near here, died on Monday.

With this, the death toll has risen to three. The Kerala government announced an interim

compensation of Rs 7.5 lakh to each of the families of the deceased.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan expressed his condolence over the deaths.

"Deeply saddened to learn that two foresters have lost their lives in line of duty. Foresters Velayudhun, Divakaran

and Sankaran lost their lives while battling the dangerous wildfire in Thrissur range. Our thoughts are with the bereaved

families," Vijayan tweeted. Two forest department officials - Velayudhun and

Divakaran - were on Sunday charred to death in a wildfire at Wadakkancherry near here while the third watcher Sankaran died

on Monday. Forest department said out of the Rs 7.5-lakh

compensation, Rs 5 lakh would be allotted by the state government and the remaining Rs 2.5 lakh would be given from

the Periyar Tiger Foundation. "We will discuss the matter of providing a job to the

dependents of the deceased at the government-level and take a decision accordingly," the Minister said in a press release.

The Minister further said the government would bear the funeral expenses of the deceased and the medical expenses

of the injured. "We will inquire into the lapses, if any, on behalf

of HNL plantation (to where the wildfire had spread) in taking necessary precautions against the fire. A probe would be

conducted into the incident and necessary steps would be taken to avoid such incidents in future," a release issued by the

forest department said. The release claimed that the fire was under control.

The same area had witnessed a similar wildfire last year.