A fire broke out at the Pallikaranai marshland near Perumbakkam on the night of Thursday, May 30. Reports said that the cause for the fire is the summer heat and it quickly spread to a vast area behind Global Hospital. Apart from the Hospital, the Tambaram City Police Commissionerate, a college, and some other establishments are also around the marshland that caught fire.
Onlookers noticed the fire at around 9 pm and alerted the Fire and Rescue Services. The Hindu reported that the fire was brought under control after close to two hours with efforts from personnel from Velachery and Pallikaranai.
According to reports, there has been no casualty but the vegetation and the breeding ground for birds have been destroyed. A fire services officer who spoke to The Hindu said that it was initially difficult to control the fire as it quickly spread to a vast area and personnel could not venture into the marshland.
In a similar incident, a fire had broken out at a vacant land near Meenambakkam railway station. Reports attributed this fire also to the summer heat and has left vegetation destroyed.