Thrissur: Three forest department officials were on Sunday charred to death in a wildfire at Wadakkancherry near here, officials said.
Poongodu forest station watcher K U Divakaran (43) and temporary watcher A K Velayudhan (54) and Shankaran (55) died during a bid to douse the wildfire that had spread at the HNL plantation.
"Other officials also suffered burns and have been admitted to Thrissur Medical college hospital," officials said.
Forest minister K Raju expressed his condolences after the tragic incident.
"The department has allotted preliminary monetary assistance to the families of the deceased. Compensation for the families of the deceased and the injured will be decided soon," the minister said in a statement.
