West Bengal: Massive blaze in Siliguri slum destroys hundreds of houses, leave three seriously injured

A large fire broke out in a slum in the city of Siliguri in the northern West Bengal on Saturday evening, and at least three persons, including a fireman and a kid, were critically wounded, according to fire officials. Akhilesh Chaturvedi, Commissioner of Police, said that the cause of the fire remained unknown.

The fire broke out at 8 o'clock in the evening in ward 18 of the city, known as Rana Bustee, and was said to have destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses.

After many hours of firefighting, eight fire tenders were able to bring the incident under control.  While in town, Union Minister of State for Education Subhas Sarkar went there to assess the situation.

As a result of the explosion of many cylinders, the fire quickly spread across the slum, which was home to some 2,000 people.

Also, READ: Karnataka: Explosion in moving autorickshaw injures two in Mangaluru, police begin probe

Residents reported fleeing their homes as the fire advanced, adding that they did not have time to retrieve any belongings. Ward councillor Mili Sinha was seen consoling the slum-dwellers

(With Inputs from PTI)