Two siblings killed in fire at old residential quarters in Arunachal’s Tezu
The incident marks the town’s second major fire in a month after a November blaze gutted seven hostel rooms
Charred remains of the old residential quarters at Peon Colony, on Wednesday. (Photo:@DDNewsArunachal/X)
Itanagar, Dec 17: Two siblings, aged 8 and 15, were charred to death in a fire that broke out in their house in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tezu on Wednesday.
The siblings, 17-year-old Chera Nikia and 9-year-old Chera Kagung, were alone at home at Peon Colony, when the incident happened.
The incident occurred in the district headquarters of the Lohit district at around 3.30 am.
According to police, flames engulfed three residential structures, owned by Habung Umi, Gyati Naka, and Chera Neel, all of which were old quarters.
The nature of the structures reportedly aided the rapid spread of the fire, leaving little time for escape, officials said.
Police said the fire brigade and police teams reached the spot around 4 am and contained the blaze, preventing it from spreading to nearby houses.
Confirming the incident, Lohit SP Thupten Jamba said a case has been registered at Tezu police station.
“The bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination for identification and completion of legal formalities,” the SP said.
He added that it was too early to ascertain the cause of the fire.
Further investigation is underway to determine the exact cause of the fire, the police said.
According to neighbours, the fire was caused by explosion of, at least four LPG cylinders, causing the fire to spread rapidly. They said they tried to douse the flames but were unable to save the children.
This is the second such incident in the town in just over a month. In early November, seven rooms of the boys’ hostel at Indira Gandhi College were gutted, raising concerns over fire safety protocols across local establishments.
No casualties were reported, and investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing.
With inputs from PTI