Fire destroys 39 houses, displaces 285 people in Nepal

Nearly 50 houses in a village were gutted by a massive fire that broke out in western Nepal's Kalikot district, displacing as many as 285 people, including 111 children, police said.

The fire broke out from a house at around 1:30am on Monday and spread to other houses in the clustered settlement.

"Clothes, food grains and other valuables belonging to 87 families living in 39 houses were destroyed in the incident that started at midnight and seven persons who were trying to douse the fire got injured, said Police Inspector Devendra Malla.

The fire that broke out at Khada settlement of Palata Rural Municipality-1 in Kalikot on Monday morning destroyed 39 houses and displaced as many as 285 people including 111 children.

As the houses in the settlement had thatched roofs, the village was engulfed in fire in no time. Properties worth millions of rupees were destroyed in the fire, police said.

Police said two buffaloes and 21 cattle were charred to death while 48 other houses were partially damaged.

"We had called the police immediately after the fire started but the police personnel deployed from Thirpu and Jarkot posts reached the site after four hours," said locals.

The security personnel of the Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force as well as the locals jointly took the fire under control.

"Now that the fire is under control, we have to manage shelter and food for 87 families. We are preparing to keep the displaced families at a local school building," they said.

Meanwhile, the provincial government of Karnali provided relief materials to the victims.

The province executive also provided Rs 20,000 to each displaced family as immediate relief while various local units in the district also vowed to help the fire.