Shillong, Jan 3 (IANS): A 10-year-old Roman Catholic church building here was razed to the ground by a raging fire in the wee hours of Monday, a church priest said.
The inferno in the Visitation Church at Mawprem in Shillong, started around 1.30 am and completely destroyed the wooden structure. No one was injured in the blaze, parish priest Rev. Fr Leo Iawbor said. "The church is a 10-year-old wooden structure and the raging fire has completely ravaged it," Iawbor told IANS.
Local rescue workers tried to extinguish the blaze after fire tenders were delayed due to overnight parking in the narrow roads leading to the Church.
Asked if he suspected arson, the parish priest said: "We don't suspect anybody to be behind the fire tragedy. We think it could be because of an electrical short circuit."
Fire and emergency services officials, meanwhile, have started investigation to find out the exact cause of the blaze. "We are yet to determine the cause of the fire but preliminary investigations hint at an electrical short-circuit," Deputy Fire Service Officer SC Nath said.
