SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday condoled the loss of lives in the Dal Lake fire incident. "I am deeply pained by the loss of lives due to the unfortunate fire incident at Dal Lake, Srinagar. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. I have directed the District Administration to provide all necessary assistance to the affected persons," the LG said.

In the early hours of Saturday, a massive fire gutted five houseboats in Srinagar's Dal Lake, killing three Bangladeshi tourists who were in one of the vessels. The blaze broke out in the houseboats along Ghat no 9 in the Dal Lake area.

As per officials, the flames quickly spread and engulfed five houseboats namely Safeena, Sabreena, Young Gulshan, Lala Rukh and Khar Palace. Three tourists from Bangladesh namely Anindaya Kowshal, Das Gupta and Mohammad Moinud, who were staying in houseboat Safeena lost their lives in the devastating fire, they added.

Moreover, seven residential huts and neighbouring houses in the vicinity were also gutted in the ensuing blaze. Pertinently, eight people staying in these houseboats were rescued and evacuated to safety through timely and valiant action by joint efforts of Srinagar Police, State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), and civilians.

In this regard, a fire incident report has been lodged at RM Bagh police station and an investigation was initiated.