The Southern Air Command (SAC) of the Indian Air Force sent 16 Garud commandos and three choppers to Bodi where a group of trekkers is stranded in the midst of a forest fire that struck on Sunday. One helicopter has been kept on standby.
The commandos are involved in rescue operations from Monday morning. The choppers have bambi buckets for dousing the fire from above.
A spokesperson from SAC said that eight commandos have already reached the fire zone in the hills and started dousing the fire.
One of the helicopters completed the first round of action and is continuing the rescue operation.