At least nine shops were gutted in a massive fire in Loran area of Mandi tehsil in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, police said.
Station House Officer (SHO) Loran Ved Prakash told Greater Kashmir that the fire broke out at 4am at Bus Adda area.
“The fire appeared in a shop and soon it engulfed the adjacent shops,” he said, adding that nine shops were turned to ashes in the incident.
Prakash said that timely efforts by the police, firemen and the locals prevented the fire from consuming more shops.