Major fire engulfs Bhitarkanika National Park

A major fire engulfed the Bhitarkanika National Park destroying an area of about three sq km of mangrove vegetation, official sources said today.

A major fire engulfed the Bhitarkanika National Park destroying an area of about three sq km of mangrove vegetation, official sources said on Monday.

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The fire broke out in the Angani forest block but the extent of damage was yet to be ascertained, Rajnagar (mangrove) Forest division sources said.

Forest personnel and local people fought the blaze to bring it under control so that it could not spread.

It was suspected that the fire was lit by a group of honey collectors to ward off swarms of honeybees from a beehive, the sources said.

According to eyewitness accounts from peripheral Baunsagadi hamlet, a thick smoke enveloped the skyline after the fire spread. Petrified wild boars and spotted deers were seen scurrying for cover, they said.

Fire tenders reached the area in the afternoon but by then the local people and forest personnel had controlled the blaze.