Shimla: An eight-year-old child was among three Nepalese individuals killed in a massive fire that engulfed a four-storey building in Solan, primarily occupied by migrant families from Bihar and Nepal, officials said on Monday.
The fire broke out near UCO Bank in the Arki market on Sunday night, and six people are still feared to be trapped under the debris, police said. Arki MLA Sanjay Awasthi, who was at the spot, said that 10 to 15 houses suffered significant damage in the fire. Some locals from Nepal are missing and a search is underway to locate them, he said.
The building, made of mud and wood and owned by Rajiv Gupta, was completely gutted in the blaze. The ground and first floors housed shops, while families lived on the third and fourth floors.