Bhadrak: As many as 25 houses of seventeen families were gutted at Rout Sahi under Bhandaripokhari block in Bhadrak district late night on Monday.
During the mishap, two cattle were also charred to death and property worth lakhs of rupees including three bikes and cash worth Rs 40,000 were reduced to ashes in the fire mishap.
As per reports, the blaze originated from one house owing to electric short circuit and subsequently spread to the nearby houses in the locality. The fire also led to the explosion of an LPG cylinder in one of the houses.
“There was no time to protect our belongings. We lost everything in the fire mishap,” said a victim Kanchan Rout.
By the time fire tenders reached the spot and doused the flames, the houses had been already reduced to cinders.
"BDO and RI are present at the spot to take stock of the situation. We have assessed emergency relief for 3 days. On our request Red Cross is also providing assistance to the affected families," Bhadrak Collector Gyana Das said.
"We are taking all necessary steps to ensure that compensation is provided to the affected residents," he added.