Kohima, Feb 19: Four persons including a minor were charred to death in a forest fire at Noklak in Tuensang district, official sources said today. Two women and a 10-year-old boy, who went for firewood collection, were engulfed by the spreading jungle fire near a Mission centre in Noklak town yesterday. The fire started by the villagers to clear jungle for Jhum cultivation spread towards the human populated areas due to dry spell accompanied by wind, the sources said. A student of a theological college, reportedly rushed along with a friend to the area on hearing that the inferno raging towards the college campus but was engulfed in the blaze and subsequently succumbed at the spot. District administration officials said they were not informed about the jungle clearing operation by the villagers although the normal practice was to intimate the administration before carrying out the slash and burning for cultivation during this dry spell. Although no damage of property or houses was reported, the blaze engulfed a large area beyond the demarcated cultivable land and wild fire was finally brought under control around 5:30 pm yesterday by Assam Rifles assisted by the district administration and the public, the sources added. (PTI)