24 houses gutted in fire in Kashmir Valley

Around two dozen houses were gutted and over 500 livestock perished when a fire on Wednesday broke out in a village near the line of control (LoC) in Bandipora district, official sources said.

The blaze started in a house in Baraub village of Gurez sector, 150 kms from Srinagar, in the wee hours and spread to adjoining houses, army spokesman said.

He said nearly two dozen houses were damaged in the blaze which was brought under control following strenuous effort by the army.

Over 500 livestock, including goats, sheep, horses and buffaloes were charred in the fire but no civilian casualty was reported in the incident, the source added.

Gurez is currently cut off from rest of the Valley because of heavy snowfall.

"The army unit rushed as almost all three rows of 90 houses in the village were ablaze. All efforts initially were concentrated on evacuating the trapped villagers," the spokesman added.

He said while the villagers were busy retrieving their belongings from the burning homes, the army continued its relief operations unabated throughout the night till the fire was completely doused by 5.00am today.

"Though the army was successful in preventing loss to human life, 350 goats and sheep, 45 horses and over 125 buffaloes  perished," the spokesperson said.