Three tourists killed in J-K’s Dal Lake houseboat fire incident, 8 rescued

Three tourists were killed and eight others had to be rescued after the fire that broke out in a houseboat at Dal Lake in Srinagar district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, police said on Sunday.

According to officials, three tourists from Bangladesh namely Anindaya Kowshal, Das Gupta and Mohammad Moinud, who were staying in houseboat Safeena, died in the devastating fire, they added.

“Three people died while eight people were rescued after several houseboats were destroyed in a massive fire in Dal Lake,” the Jammu and Kashmir Police said on Sunday.

Significantly, eight people have been brought to safety due to timely and courageous action taken by the joint efforts of Srinagar Police, State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and citizens, officials said.

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 sincere condolences to the relatives. 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 destroyed five houseboats in Srinagar’s Dal Lake, killing three Bangladeshi tourists who were in one of the vessels, officials said.

The fire broke out in the houseboats along Ghat No. 9 in the Dal Lake area.

According to officials, the flames spread quickly and engulfed five houseboats namely Safeena, Sabreena, Young Gulshan, Lala Rukh and Khar Palace.

In addition, seven residential huts and adjacent houses in the area were also gutted in the ensuing fire.

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