Fire guts over 40 houses in city

Guwahati: A massive fire broke out at Patarkuchi near Basistha here on Friday which gutted more than 40 rented rooms inhabited by contractual labourers. However, no loss of life has been reported.

According to sources, property worth around 12 lakh was destroyed in the blaze. Three vehicles, including a motorcycle, were also gutted in the fire.

A former police officer had rented out the rooms. The fire also spread to some nearby newly-built rooms belonging to one Labanya Kalita.

Local residents said that they heard an LPG cylinder exploding before the fire broke out. They said that all the houses were made of bamboo, which facilitated the spread of the fire.

A middle-aged woman and a minor girl, who were trapped in the fire, were rescued.

Meanwhile, as fire tenders were rushing to the spot, one of them fell off the road, blocking the path. Other fire tenders had to re-route to reach the spot.

By the time the fire tenders reached the spot, locals had almost brought the fire under control.

The fire is thought to have broken out from one of the rooms rented by Bora, where a resident was cooking.

A police official said, "We received information at around 8.30-9 am about a fire in which 10-15 houses were burning. All the rooms were made of bamboo. Fire tenders, four from Dispur, two from Lokhra, and one each from Panbazar, Chandmari and Sonapur rushed to the spot. The fire has been brought under control and we will assess the damage now."

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