Houseboats catch fire on a lake popular with tourists, killing 3 in Indian-controlled Kashmir
SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Officials in Indian-controlled Kashmir say a massive fire has destroyed several wooden houseboats anchored on Dal Lake, an area popular with tourists, and three charred bodies have been recovered from the wreckage. Police in a statement said the three were tourists from Bangladesh and staying at one of the gutted houseboats. The fire brigade says five houseboats and some huts embedded in water were reduced to ashes in the intense blaze that was extinguished after nearly two hours on Saturday. The cause of the fire is being investigated. The fire brigade says some cooking gas cylinders exploded after the blaze started in the houseboats, which are often rented by tourists from outside Kashmir.