Fire breaks out in two Maha Kumbh mela sectors, 22 tents gutted

The first fire incident was reported in the ISKCON camp in sector 18 of Maha Kumbh mela while the second fire broke out in sector 5 near Khak Chowk area

PRAYAGRAJ: A fire broke out in two different sectors of the Maha Kumbh mela gutting 22 tents and damaging property worth nearly ₹10 lakh on Friday morning, police said. No casualty was reported till the time of filing this story.

It is suspected that the fire broke out due to an electrical short circuit at the ISKCON camp on Tulsi Marg, said chief fire officer, Maha Kumbh (HT Photo)

The first fire incident was reported around 10 am in the ISKCON camp in sector 18 of Maha Kumbh mela while the second fire broke out in sector 5 near Khak Chowk area.

Neighbouring camps of different organisations were also evacuated to avoid any human casualty (HT photo)

It is suspected that the fire broke out due to an electrical short circuit at the ISKCON camp on Tulsi Marg, said chief fire officer, Maha Kumbh, Pramod Sharma.

Neighbouring camps of different organisations were also evacuated to avoid any human casualty.

Over a dozen fire tenders were pressed to get the fire under control in an hour.

Sharma further said that the areas were cordoned off after the breakout of fire. “Investigations are on to ascertain the cause of the mishap,” he said.

The fire damaged property worth nearly ₹10 lakh on Friday morning (HT Photo)

This was the second major fire incident in Maha Kumbh mela. A fire had broke out on January 19 in the Geeta Press camp in sector 19 where nearly 100 tents were gutted and property worth nearly ₹1 crore was damaged.

Two to three gas cylinders exploded in the camp in Sector 19 of the mela area causing a massive fire outbreak in the camp, said Sharma. Around 10 fire tender trucks and a dozen fire-fighting motorcycles brought the flames under control in a nearly two hour-long exercise