Man charred to death fighting forest fire in J&K’s Rajouri

Abdul Aziz, a retired government teacher from Panda Khetar village of Dalyote panchayat, voluntarily joined a team of forest officials to extinguish the fire in the Garn forest of Kalakote sub division on Tuesday

A 68-year-old man was burnt to death while trying to control a forest fire in Rajouri district, officials said on Wednesday.

Despite efforts, he could not be saved and died on the spot. (File)

Abdul Aziz, a retired government teacher from Panda Khetar village of Dalyote panchayat, voluntarily joined a team of forest officials to extinguish the fire in the Garn forest of Kalakote sub division on Tuesday.

While the forest fire was controlled to a large extent by late evening, Aziz went deep to oversee the situation when he found himself trapped with winds igniting the fire again, they said.

Despite efforts, he could not be saved and died on the spot. His charred body was later retrieved and handed over to his family for the last rites after the completion of legal formalities.