Poonch, Oct 13: Three residential houses and six shops were gutted in a massive fire that broke out in the Loran area of Poonch district during the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday, causing losses worth crores of rupees, locals said.
According to police, the fire broke out during the night, gutting six shops and three residential houses. Soon after receiving information about the incident, a police team led by Loran Station House Officer (SHO) Younis Khan, along with local residents, made strenuous efforts to douse the flames.
However, the fire was so intense that it engulfed the properties within a short time, reducing them to ashes.
Police personnel evacuated the occupants of the houses and, with the assistance of locals, managed to save more than 10 other residential houses from being engulfed by the flames.
SHO Younis Khan said the cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained and that an investigation was underway.
The fire damaged the houses and shops belonging to Mohammad Yousuf, son of Lassa, and Riyaz Ahmad, son of Abdul Ghani.
Meanwhile, locals expressed strong resentment over the alleged failure of the Fire and Emergency Services to reach the spot in time. They said the fire tender had arrived from a location 15 kilometres away from Loran.
Had a fire tender been stationed in Loran, the locals said, the damage could have been minimised and several families might not have lost their homes and livelihoods.
