At least 90% of the fire that engulfed Balochistan’s Sherani forest has been put out after an Iranian firefighting aircraft having capacity of 50,000 litres of water has started operation to extinguish the flames.

The neighbouring country’s firefighter has the capacity of 50,000 litres of water and it has completed two rounds of the affected area since morning, Niaz Kakar, an official of the Balochistan Forest and Wildlife Department told Aaj News.

“The firefighter started operation on Monday and at least 70% of the flames were put off till yesterday,” he said. The helicopter is operating from Mianwali airbase as it is easier to refill the water from there, he added.

He said the teams of forest department were continuously monitoring the on ground area for any sparks that were left on the forest’s base.

Earlier, a spokesperson for the Iranian consulate in Quetta had said that the plane, Ilyushin 76, is the "biggest firefighter aircraft" in the world. The airplane would remain in Pakistan till the fire has been extinguished, the spokesperson added.

The fire has affected at least 10,700 acres of the forest that mainly comprises chilgoza (pine nut) trees ahead of the operation by the Iranian firefighter on Monday.

At least 10 to 12 villages are located in the forest in the Koh-e-Sulaiman mountain range that connects Balochistan to Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, social worker and tribal elder Malik Abdul Sattar told Aaj News.

The government has dispatched relief items, including beds, for the affected people but the goods have not arrived due to the difficult route leading to the villages, he added.

The trees belonged to three tribes of the area whose livelihood depended on chilgoza. "Their life line has been destroyed," he added.

The fire started on May 10 in KP’s Dera Ismail Khan and the blaze moved towards Sherani district on May 13.

People who live in the forest tried to put out the fire but their “miscalculation” caused the loss of three lives. At least 10 people, including community members and forest department officials, were injured while battling the blaze.

The Balochistan Provincial Disaster Management Authority tweeted late Monday that local administration, army and FC personnel along with local volunteers and forest department workers remain engaged in relief activities. PDMA rescue team 1122 is also on alert, it added.

Mujeeb Ahmed from Quetta contributed to this report.