Remains of houseboats after a fire in the tourist hub of Dal Lake, in Srinagar, Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. PTI Photo
Three tourists from Bangladesh were charred to death in a major blaze in a houseboat on the famous Dal Lake on Saturday
The tourists' bodies were retrieved from the debris of the gutted houseboats near ghat nine on the lake, a popular attraction for people visiting Jammu and Kashmir's summer capital
A police spokesman said the three tourists who lost their lives are Anindaya Kowshal, Mohammad Moinud and a third person identified as one Das Gupta -- all from Bangladesh. They were staying on the houseboat Safeena, which was gutted in the blaze.
Eight people were rescued through collaborative efforts of the Srinagar Police, State Disaster Response Force, Tourist Police, Fire and Emergency Services, and locals
Police said an investigation into the incident has been initiated and a report filed at RM Bagh police station.
The cause of the fire, which engulfed five houseboats and as many huts attached to those, was not immediately known, the officials said. They said preliminary investigations suggested that the fire broke out in one of the houseboats in the early hours due to malfunctioning of a heating appliance.
Giving details, the police spokesman said, "The conflagration quickly spread and engulfed five houseboats -- Safeena, Sabreena, Young Gulshan, Lala Rukh and Khar Palace. Seven residential huts and neighbouring houses in the vicinity were also gutted in the blaze."
The officials said DNA samples were taken from the victims to establish their identities, adding one of them was a woman, according to the records maintained by the houseboat operators.
The bodies will be handed over to the family members only after matching the DNA, the officials said.
Property worth crores of rupees were destroyed in the fire that broke out around 5.15 am, the officials said.
This was the second major fire incident involving houseboats that are anchored on the Dal and the Nigeen lakes. In April 2022, seven houseboats were gutted in a devastating fire on Nigeen Lake, mostly popular among foreign tourists, on the outskirts of the city. However, no one was hurt in the incident.
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