Two killed, three injured in major fire mishap in Jorhat

A CORRESPONDENT

JORHAT: Two persons were killed and three others seriously injured when a major fire broke out at AT Road near Tocklai bridge in the heart of Jorhat town on Sunday night. The injured persons were admitted at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) and their condition was stated to be critical.

Deputy Commissioner of Jorhat, Roshni Aparanji Korati said, "The deceased were identified as Gomti Devi (72) and Satyanarayan Agarwal (75). The injured persons are Mahendra Agarwal (58), Krishna Gopal Agarwal (55) and Usha Singhi (50)."

Korati added, "Besides 13 fire tenders of the State fire service of Jorhat, Golaghat and Sivasagar districts, fire tenders from ONGC, Air Force and Numaligarh Refinery Limited were engaged to extinguish the fire. The blaze, which began at around 11.30 pm on Sunday, could be extinguished at about 4 am on Monday."

According to a fire brigade officer, preliminary investigations suggest a short circuit from a ceiling fan in a building as the reason for the fire. The fire gutted two buildings, one two-storey and the other three-storey. At least 10 establishments like shops, house, godowns and hotels were gutted in the fire.

Assam Assembly Speaker and Jorhat legislator Hitendra Nath Goswami visited the site and took stock of the situation. "It is very unfortunate. Fire department personnel reached the spot on time and they worked very hard to control the fire. I express my condolence to the two deceased persons and pray for speedy recovery of the injured people," Goswami said.

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