A massive fire broke out in the forest area of Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan's Alwar district, said a forest official on Tuesday. Indian Air Force (IAF) choppers have been deployed to douse the blaze. The IAF said that it has deployed two Mi 17 V5 helicopters to undertake Bambi Bucket operations and the fire fighting operations are underway since early morning today.

"At the behest of Alwar District administration to help control spread of fire over large areas of Sariska Tiger Reserve, IAF has deployed two Mi 17 V5 helicopters to undertake Bambi Bucket operations. Fire Fighting Operations are underway since early morning today," said the IAF. Sudarshan Sharma, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Alwar said that nine square km of area is up in the flames as of now.