Manipur Wildfire, Jan 6: An Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) who was deployed to fight the Dzukou Valley wildfire was found dead inside a base camp in the hills near the valley in Manipur, police said.
The ASI has been identified as Nongthombam Binoy Meetei,a resident of Luwangshangbam Maning Leikai in Manipur’s Imphal East District, a police official of Mao Police station in Senapati district said. The cause of the death is not yet known, police said.
The body has been sent to JNIMS mortuary in Imphal for necessary procedure.
Chief Minister N Biren Singh expressed shock and sorrow over the death of Binoy Meetei.
NDRF teams from Guwahati along with state disaster response force, fire and police personnel besides volunteers from Mao area have been engaged in firefighting operations after the blaze that broke out in the Dzukou Range in Nagaland on December 29 spread across the border to Manipur on the morning of December 31.
Indian Air Force helicopters were also pressed into service to fight the fire.
Dzukou valley straddles Nagaland and Manipur and is a popular trekking destination for its picturesque biodiversity.
