Fire destroys three houseboats in Alappuzha, major disaster averted

ALAPPUZHA: Three houseboats caught fire in Pallathuruthy on Wednesday. No casualties have been reported. The houseboats of Lakes and Lagoons Company, which were anchored in the yard for annual maintenance on the south side of the Pallathuruthy bridge, caught fire. The incident took place at around 9 pm last night.

The accident occurred after the workers had left the boat. Therefore, a major disaster was averted. Welding work and woodwork were ongoing on the houseboat at the same time. In the meantime, it is believed that the other boats caught fire after a cooking gas cylinder in one of the houseboats exploded. There were about 10 other houseboats near the scene of the incident.

The other boats were shifted to a safe place as soon as the fire broke out. The locals and the fire brigade worked hard for several hours to put out the fire.