Massive blaze at Jharkhand forest, 4 firefighters severely injured

The fire broke out at the Bigha Forest along the Hazaribag-Gaya Road in Chouparan police station area, officials said

Four firefighters were critically injured as they were dousing a massive fire that broke out in a forest in Jharkhand's Hazaribag district on Saturday morning, officials said.

The fire broke out at the Bigha Forest along the Hazaribag-Gaya Road in Chouparan police station area, they said.

The fire ravaged trees spread over six hectares of land, causing huge loss to the department, said Divisional Forest Officer RN Mishra.

A team of firefighters was working on dousing the flames which turned severe around 9 am. Four members of the team were injured during the operations, he said.

The blaze was brought under control after more firefighters were called in from Barhi and Hazaribag, he added.

It is suspected that some miscreants among those who collect mohua flowers from the forest could have set the fire, the officer said.

We have registered a police complaint in this connection, he added.

Earlier this year, similar forest fires were reported from Barhi, Barkagaon and Canary Hill, causing severe damage.