The death toll in the forest fire incident in Kurangani in Theni district last Sunday rose to 17 with the death of Sathish Kumar (29) from Gnanapuram in Chithode at the Grace Kennet Foundation Hospital in Madurai on Sunday.
Mr. Sathish Kumar sustained 60% burn injuries. His condition worsened over the past few days and he was put on ventilator, hospital sources said. Nine persons are under treatment, of which five have over 50% burn injuries. One woman is at GRH, four women are at three private hospitals in Madurai, two women at a private hospital in Chennai and two women are in private hospitals in Coimbatore and Erode. Mr. Sathish Kumar’s body was brought to his hometown at 2 p.m. and cremated in the evening.
Minister for Environment K.C. Karuppannan paid homage. Mr. Satheesh Kumar is survived by wife and parents.
His relatives said that he was involved in social activities.
