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Three forest officers missing during tiger census found safe after night-long search in Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Bringing an anxious overnight search to an end, the three forest officers who went missing during a tiger census in the ParuthipallyPeppara block were found safe on Tuesday morning, officials said. They were traced near Erattumukku around 8:30 am after a search that continued through the night. Section Forest Officer Vineetha, Beat Forest Officer Rajesh and Beat Forest Assistant Rajesh R had set out on Monday morning for fieldwork as part of the tiger census. They were scheduled to return to the camp shed at Pandippara by evening, but failed to return. According to Forest Department officials, the Rapid Response Team (RRT) and beat officers launched a search operation as soon as the officers were reported missing. All three were familiar with the terrain, and one of them, the beat forest assistant, had taken the same route during the previous tiger census. They are believed to have strayed off the trail during the survey. There had been communication through one of their mobile phones earlier in the day, but they stopped responding by evening, officials said. The officers were carrying GPS devices and walkie-talkies. As teams were preparing to extend the search into neighbouring Tamil Nadu forests on Tuesday morning, a breakthrough came when a forest watcher spotted the officers near Erattumukku around 8:30 am. Although the area is not a deep interior forest, the disappearance triggered considerable concern within the department. Further procedures are underway, the DFO said.