A massive fire gutted a village in Himachal Pradesh, burning down more than 10 houses and rendering many homeless, late on Friday (December 25).
The catastrophic fire broke out in the Baghi village near Rohru, about 100 km from the capital Shimla in the northern state. Recent reports suggest that the authorities are still trying to assess the damage caused by the inferno.
The fire spread quickly, taking with it many houses before the fire brigade could even reach the location. It is reported that the police and firefighters arrived at the scene as soon as they got to know about the fire. Despite their best efforts, they could not keep many homes from burning down.
It is reported that many residents escaped the fire to save their lives but they could not save their belongings. This is the fourth major fire reported in Rohru in the past month.
The Gram Panchayat office of Baghi was one of the buildings that were consumed by the raging fire. According to Zee News, the fire burnt down 13 homes, out of which four were partially burnt.
The state chief minister, Jai Ram Thakur, directed authorities to support those affected by the fire.
The authorities and local officials, including the sub-divisional magistrate and deputy superintendent of police, are taking charge of the situation and providing relief and rescue operations to the affected families.
The authorities will provide relief money too and other assistance to the aggrieved residents of the village, who lost their homes in this incident.
The estimated loss from the fire may be in crores, according to the reports. There are no casualties reported thus far and the cause of the fire has not been ascertained yet.