25 houses gutted in devastating fire in Indian-controlled Kashmir

At least 25 residential houses were gutted in a devastating fire in Indian- controlled Kashmir, police said Tuesday.

The fire broke out Monday night at old town in Baramulla, about 53 km northwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian- controlled Kashmir.

No loss of life was reported in the incident, however two people suffered burn injuries in the fire, health officials said.

"In a devastating incident of fire, 25 residential houses were gutted last night here," Deputy Commissioner of Baramulla Peerzada Mushtaq Ahmad Shah told media. "The houses were inhabited by 46 families."

According to police officials, fire began in one of the houses and immediately spread to adjacent houses.The officials of region' s Fire and Emergency Services department said it took around three hours for them to contain fire and douse the flames.

"The fire broke out Monday around 10:14 p.m. (local time) and continued until 1:00 a.m. on Tuesday," an official from Fire and Emergency Services department said. "We pressed in 14 fire tenders to contain the blaze and prevent the flames from spreading to the locality."

The cause of fire was being ascertained. However, preliminary investigations according to police suggest electric short circuit as a reason behind the fire .

In a similar incident in southern village of Kokernag, three houses were gutted.

Officials at Fire and Emergency Services department say chances of fire in the region increase during winters, as households store various types of fuel. Endi