Shimla, Jan 13: The National Disaster Response Force and dog squads on Tuesday joined operations to locate six Nepalese nationals feared buried under debris of a massive fire at Arki Bazaar in Himachal Pradesh’s Solan district on Sunday night, officials said on Tuesday.
The fire destroyed a four-storey building primarily occupied by migrant families and damaged several adjacent structures. Three persons, including an eight-year-old child, have been confirmed dead.
Officials said child died while being taken to a hospital, while the charred and fragmented remains of two others were recovered from the site.
Large quantities of debris have hampered the search process. While teams of the district administration, police, State Disaster Response Force, Home Guard and fire department have been on site since the incident, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and dog squads were inducted on Tuesday morning to assist in the operation, the officials said.
Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Arki, Nishant Tomar, said DNA samples have been collected from the family members of the missing individuals to confirm their identities. He added that the identification of the remains recovered so far would only be possible after the DNA reports are processed.
The building, owned by Rajiv Gupta, was constructed of mud and wood and was completely gutted. The ground and first floors housed commercial shops, while the upper two floors served as residential quarters.
Eyewitnesses reported hearing six to seven loud explosions, suspected to be cylinder blasts, which are believed to have intensified the blaze.
According to the administration, all three deceased individuals and the six missing individuals are Nepalese nationals hailing from Salyan in the Karnali province of Nepal. Five of the nine people are minors.
Police have registered a case of negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter under Section 287 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Solan Deputy Commissioner Manmohan Sharma has ordered a formal inquiry into the cause of the fire. (PTI)
