Altogether 101 huts were destroyed in a fire that broke out in a Bhutanese refugee camp in Beldangi in Jhapa district on Tuesday.

While 63 huts were reduced to ashes, 38 huts had to be destroyed to prevent the fire from causing more damage, said Armed Police Force (APF) inspector Dipak Raj Bhatta. Around 450 refugees, whose houses were destroyed in the fire, are now in a lurch, according to the Beldangi refugee camp management committee.

Police said the fire started from the hut of one Tirtharaj Poudel in Beldangi-2. The refugees said that the fire started after a cooking gas cylinder leaked but the police in the evening said the actual cause has yet to be ascertained. According to D B Subba, secretary of the camp, it took almost two hours for two fire engines sent by Damak municipality to douse the fire.

Published on: 5 December 2012 | Republica