Srinagar: A fire at the Nigeen Lake here in the early hours of Monday destroyed seven houseboats, officials said.
The fire broke out on one of the houseboats anchored at the rear side of Nigeen Club on the lake and quickly spread to adjacent houseboats, resulting in destruction of seven of the floating hotels besides three sheds.
“We noticed fire in a houseboat at around 2:00 am and instantly informed the fire and emergency service. However, the intense blaze had destroyed six other houseboats before the firefighters could reach the spot,” Javaid Ahmad, a local told ‘Kashmir Images’
The cause of fire, which destroyed property worth crores of rupees, was not immediately known.
An official from fire and emergency service said six fire tenders were rushed to the spot instantly after receiving information about the fire incident. He said seven deluxe houseboats were completely gutted and property worth crores destroyed in the incident.
The names of houseboats damaged in the inferno are India Palace, New Maharaja Palace, Lily of The World, Flora, Young Swift, Jersey and Royal Paradise.
Meanwhile, National conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah expressed anguish over fire incident and asked the divisional administration to reach out to affected with relief and compensation.
