Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami said the State government had taken all steps on a war footing to rescue those trapped in the forest fire at Kurangani hills in Theni.
The Chief Minister, who took part in a public meeting at Edappadi as part of the birth anniversary celebrations of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Sunday evening, told journalists that he heard about the incident while he was on the dais and hence had not got the full details. As soon as the meeting got over, he directed Forest Minister C. Sreenivasan and senior forest officials to take up rescue operations.
He said he had also requested the Centre to rush helicopters for the rescue operations.
The Forest department would strengthen the safety and security arrangements inside the reserve forests. The government would hold a detailed inquiry, he said.
