Srinagar, Nov 11: Three tourists from Bangladesh were charred to death in a major blaze in a houseboat on the famous Dal Lake on Saturday, officials here said.
The tourists’ bodies were retrieved from the debris of the gutted houseboats near ghat nine on the lake, a popular attraction for people visiting Jammu and Kashmir’s summer capital, the officials said.
A police spokesman said the three tourists who lost their lives are Anindaya Kowshal, Mohammad Moinud and a third person identified as one Das Gupta — all from Bangladesh. They were staying on the houseboat Safeena, which was gutted in the blaze.
Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha condoled the deaths.
Eight people were rescued through collaborative efforts of the Srinagar Police, State Disaster Response Force, Tourist Police, Fire and Emergency Services, and locals, the police spokesman said.
Police said an investigation into the incident has been initiated and a report filed at RM Bagh police station.
The cause of the fire, which engulfed five houseboats and as many huts attached to those, was not immediately known, the officials said. They said preliminary investigations suggested that the fire broke out in one of the houseboats in the early hours due to malfunctioning of a heating appliance.
Giving details, the police spokesman said, “The conflagration quickly spread and engulfed five houseboats — Safeena, Sabreena, Young Gulshan, Lala Rukh and Khar Palace. Seven residential huts and neighbouring houses in the vicinity were also gutted in the blaze.” The officials said DNA samples were taken from the victims to establish their identities, adding one of them was a woman, according to the records maintained by the houseboat operators.
The bodies will be handed over to the family members only after matching the DNA, the officials said. (PTI)
