Rain puts out Haripur forest fire

HARIPUR: The rainfall that lashed different parts of Haripur saved hundreds of acres of forestland which had been under fire for the last two days in the Gandiyan Forest Range of Haripur, local people and official sources said on Sunday.

The fire had erupted in the Gandiyan forest of Haripur district on Saturday morning and was spreading fast close to the residential area forcing the villagers to take part in the rescue operation.

However since there was no modern equipment available with the Forest Department or district government the locals used the conventional method of fire- fighting using the tree branches which resulted in the death of two villagers, Ejaz and Abdul Rasheed. Two other villagers also were fainted in the heavy smoke in the same operation, official sources told.