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Fire kills one, three rooms gutted in Dharamshala

By Lobsang Wangyal | Tibet Sun

Fire killed an 86-year-old monk and gutted three rooms at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives after a kitchen accident in the afternoon of 26 January 2009. Police say gas leakage could have been the cause of the fire.Tibet Sun/Lobsang Wangyal/India

A major fire at the staff quarters of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives killed one person and gutted three rooms in early afternoon today.

The man killed was identified as 86-year-old Sangay Yeshi, who was a thangka master at the library. No other casualties have been reported. The loss of property from the accident has not been estimated yet.

All the belongings in the three rooms were charred. Witnesses say three cooking gas cylinders exploded while the flame was raging.

Fire engulfed the first floor of the two-storeyed staff quarters shortly after 2 p.m. Police say gas leakage could have been the cause of the fire.

Two fire trucks and firefighters rushed to the spot, but the damage to the three rooms had already been done by the time they arrived. Although the accident had happened at a difficult location, the fire was completely doused later on by the fire tenders.

Local Indian authorities rushed to the spot to over see the work of the firefighters and to assess the damage.

The last major fire accident in Mcleod Ganj was on 26 December 2004, when a whole block that housed Kailash Hotel and shops at the ground level was gutted to flames.

Copyright © 2009 Tibet Sun

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