Hotel, 3 structures gutted in different fire incidents in Kashmir

A hotel and three other structures were gutted in different devastating fires in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said Monday. However, there are no reports of causalities or injuries in these fires. The hotel Zehgeer was gutted Monday at Gulmarg town, about 52 km northwest of Indian-controlled Kashmir. "Fire broke out today in a hotel here at 11:20 a.m. (local time) damaging the building completely," said a police official. "All the tourists are safe." Fire tenders from region's Fire and Emergency Services Department were immediately called to douse the fire and prevent it from spreading, the police said. Firemen evacuated tourists and the staff at hotel safely during the blaze, the officials said. The police have registered a case. However, the cause of fire was not immediately known, police said. Gulmarg is a known tourist destination and a famous ski resort. A police spokesman in Srinagar said Monday that a residential house and a cowshed were gutted at Syed Abad in Awantipora and a shop was damaged in a similar incident in Anantnag. Last week also fires devastated several buildings, industrial units and damaged a maternity hospital in the region. The region's Fire and Emergency Services department officials say chances of fire in the region increase during winters in wake of the storage of various types of fuel by the people.