Online Desk

The identities of three Bangladeshis who were burnt to death when a devastating fire swept through five houseboats in a popular tourist spot Dal Lake in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar city, were found, Indian police said.

The three bodies, one of them is believed to be woman, were recovered when State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel were clearing the debris following the fire incident, read a press statement issued by the Srinagar police on Saturday night.

“Three tourists from Bangladesh, namely Anindaya Kowshal, Das Gupta and Mohammad Moinud, who were staying in houseboat ‘Safeena’, lost their lives in the devastating fire,” the statement said.

Officials said that the document of India’s Foreigners Registration Office and records with travel operators suggested that the three dead were from Bangladesh and on a tourist trip to the Valley.

Officials also said that DNA samples have been collected from the bodies to get confirmed their identities. The bodies would be handed over to their families after the DNA test.

The cause of the fire, which gutted the five houseboats, seven adjacent residential huts, and neighbouring houses in the vicinity, could not be ascertained.

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha expressed deep shock at the deaths of tourists.

He said, “I am deeply pained by the loss of lives due to that unfortunate fire incident at Dal Lake, Srinagar. I am expressing my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. I have directed the District Administration to provide all necessary assistance to the affected persons.”