A devastating fire broke out in Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttarakhand's Almora district, claiming the lives of four individuals, including three forest department workers, reports emerged on Thursday.

The fire erupted around 3:30 pm in the Civil Soyam forest division of Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary. According to reports, the forest workers had gone to the spot to extinguish the dousing forest fire in Binsar earlier today.

However, four persons who sustained serious burn injuries were declared dead at a hospital, reports added.

Manoj Sanwal, Ranger Forest Department said, "Today at 3 o'clock, on receiving the information about the fire in Binsar, a team of eight people went to the spot and due to the strong wind, the fire took a terrible form due to which 4 people died on the spot and 4 people are seriously injured, who have been referred to the base hospital."

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has expressed profound sorrow over the incident and ordered the immediate airlifting of four other injured forest workers to Haldwani Base Hospital for treatment.

In response to the tragedy, the Chief Minister announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 10 lakh for the families of each deceased victim.