Theni District Collector on Monday confirmed that nine people have died in the forest fire that broke out in Kurangani hills area here on Sunday.
Among the deceased are four women, four men, and a child. Six of out of the nine dead are from Chennai, while three belong to Erode.
So far, as many as 27 people have been rescued, out of which ten suffered minor injuries while eight sustained serious injuries.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) was pressed into action by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman after reports of the forest fire surfaced on Sunday.
Meanwhile, 16 commandos of the Garud Commando Force and four choppers from the IAF, with one of them at standby, arrived here on Monday morning to commence the search and rescue operation.
The operation is underway and further details are awaited.
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