Vijayalakshmi was part of a team of trekkers who were taken on an expedition by the Chennai Trekking Club through the remote forests in the Western Ghats on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border.Theni: When wildfire blazed its way through Kurangani hills on Sunday evening, Vijayalakshmi, one of the members of the ill-fated trekking team, ran frantically to escape the intense smoke, flames, and heat.
Own safety was not her only priority. She was equally concerned about the lives of her trek mates numbering over 30. Had she not acted swiftly and informed the people outside about the catastrophic incident, none of them would have survived.
"We were on our way back to Kurangani hills via Kodaikanal- Kolukkumalai. We were about 8 km away from the hills when we first noticed the fire," Vijayalakshmi, who was admitted to the Government Taluk Hospital, Bodinayakanur, said.
The 26-year-old Chennai native was part of a team of trekkers who were taken on an expedition by the Chennai Trekking Club through the remote forests in the Western Ghats on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border.
Rescued trekkers at the hospital."We panicked and ran like hell in different directions screaming. Some of the team members got trapped inside the forest. The guide who accompanied us split away. We tried to call foresters and police but could not reach them due to network issues. It took some time to get through to them. I walked around eight kilometres to come out of the forest. I'm thankful to local people who rushed me to the hospital," Vijayalakshmi, who suffered only minor injuries, said.
People and media persons gather outside the hospital after the rescued were brought for treatment. After being administered first aid, she was shifted to the guest house adjacent to the Theni district Collectorate late on Sunday.
