ITANAGAR, 8 Mar: A major fire has broken out in a forest adjacent to the Sigar military station in East Siang district, officials said on Sunday.
Though no casualties have been reported so far, the blaze was spreading rapidly and it is threatening nearby vital defence installations, they said.
All available manpower of the district administration and the Indian Army have been pressed into service to contain the blaze, which erupted on Saturday, but efforts have been hampered by the difficult terrain and dense vegetation in the area, the officials said.
The state government requisitioned the deployment of an Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter to assist in aerial firefighting operations after ground teams found it difficult to control the blaze due to the challenging landscape, they said.
An IAF helicopter was deployed on Sunday and it began aerial dousing operations by lifting water from the Siang river to control the fire, they said.
However, the aerial operation was temporarily halted on Sunday evening due to operational reasons, and it is expected to resume on Monday morning.
Firefighting efforts on the ground, nevertheless, are continuing in the affected area, the officials added. (PTI)
