10 killed in fire mishap in Jammu’s Ramban

The Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra and deputy Chief minister Nirmal Singh today expressed grief over the death of 10 people, mostly construction workers, in a fire incident in Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Ten workers from a construction company were killed in a fire in India’s northern state of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, local sources announced. Officials said the fire broke out at 2am when the labourers were asleep. “The workers were sleeping in a pre-fabricated hut, which apparently caught fire due to short-circuit though exact reason of the fire is yet to be ascertained, ” said Ramban SP Randeep Kumar. “Only one victim – Rakesh Kumar of Himachal Pradesh – has been been identified”, a senior police officer told IANS here. The injured were hospitalised in a government hospital at Batote while the dead bodies were shifted to district hospital. Three others are undergoing treatment for severe burn injuries.

The victims include earth mover drivers, helpers and labourers working in the Nasra tunnel on the highway being re-designated as a four-laning Rs. 3,382.66 crore project.