Kashmir village gutted in fire

An entire village was gutted in a fire in Bandipora district near the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir Valley, officials said today.

A fire broke out late last night in one of the houses in Tulail village of Gurez sector, 125 kms from Srinagar, and spread quickly to engulf the adjoining houses, the officials said.

They said most of the houses and other structures including a mosque in the village have been gutted in the fire. However, there are no reports of any casualty in the incident so far.

"Fire tenders from nearby Dawar were rushed to the spot but these could not be of much help as most of the houses are made of wood and mud," the officials said.

Relief material has been rushed to the affected village and is being distributed among the victims, they said.

The Natural Disaster Management (NDM) cell of the state government had last year imparted training to residents of Gurez on how to prevent fire from spreading in case of a mishap.

"The incident shows that the tips given to the residents were not followed. We will have to carry out another round of training in the area, which is prone to such fires," Aamir Ali, coordinator NDM cell, said.