Banihal June 29: At least a dozen residential houses were gutted in a fire that broke out Tuesday morning in Hijwa area of Khari in Banihal sub-division of J&K’s Ramban district.
More houses are said to be at risk of the still raging flames due to the lack of road connectivity to the area even as Army, police and locals were trying their best to bring the fire under control.
Locals told Greater Kashmir that the fire broke out around 11 AM this morning and engulfed several houses.
As per a local, 12 houses had been reduced to ashes while more houses were at risk due to congestion.
Eyewitnesses said that Army’s 23 RR, Police from police post Khari and hundreds of locals from Mahoo Mangit, Khari and Bawa villages are trying their best to control fire with soil and water fetched from a nearby stream and a spring, but they are facing hardships given the massive blaze.
SHO Banihal Nayeem ul Haq said a fire brigade had been dispatched from Banihal to extinguish the fire but the area is far off from the road.
As per Haq, eight residential houses have been gutted so far and more are under flames.
He said rescue teams were trying to evacuate movable items and property of other houses and trying hard to break the fire chain to save other houses.
An Army official told Greater Kashmir that dry chemical as well as aqueous extinguishers are being dispatched to the locality to douse the flames.