Meghalaya: Massive fire breaks out in Shillong's Oxford Hills; eight houses gutted

SHILLONG:

A massive fire broke out at an old sawmill in Oxford Hills, Rilbong, Shillong at about 4.50 pm on Saturday, October 31.

According to the East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police, Sylvester Nongtnger, eight houses were completely gutted in the fire.

"During the inquiry, it is learned that the fire started from one storeroom in the still fabrication where MCB (Miniature Circuit Breaker) Board is fixed," Nongtnger said.

It was informed that the location is also a disputed land between Gopal Gupta and Pawan Bawri.

Fortunately, no loss of life or injury was reported.

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"The fire has been controlled with the help of 8 (eight) fire tenders and due to the timely response, the fire was stopped from spreading to adjoining houses," the district police chief added.

The Eastern Air Command (EAC) also activated the emergency services and pushed two of its fire tenders into action.

It was reported that the fire caused the explosion of three gas cylinders.

Though police have attributed a short circuit as the reason for the fire, the locals say otherwise.

They claimed that leakage of gas cylinders was the reason for the fire even as they alleged a local gas agency of distributing leaked cylinders earlier during the day.