Forest fires rage in Poonch, Samba and Jammu districts of IIOJK
Jammu: A devastating fire swept a forest area near the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, triggering multiple mine explosions.
According to Kashmir Media Service, several mines exploded due to forest fire along the LoC in the forward area of Mankote in Mendhar sub-sector in Poonch district, officials said.
The blaze started from across the LoC and spread rapidly to this side, engulfing several hectares of forest land, they added.
In separate incidents, massive fires broke out in the forest areas of Samba and Jammu districts, causing significant damage.
In this regard, officials said that in Samba, the fire started in the Purmandal area and soon spread to nearby villages threatening several residential houses. In a similar incident in Jammu, the fire broke out in the Choki Chora area, spreading to adjoining villages and threatening homes.
The forest department officials and local residents launched separate operations to extinguish the flames, successfully bringing the fires under control after several hours, the officials said, adding there was no loss of life or injury to anyone in both the incidents, however, the fires caused significant damage to forest land and property.
