Overview
- The blaze erupted around 2 a.m. in the main market near Arki’s Old Bus Stand in Solan district.
- Multiple shops were gutted and a UCO Bank branch burned, where the approximately eight-year-old victim was found.
- At least seven people are unaccounted for, largely migrant labourers from Nepal and Bihar believed to include two to three families.
- Firefighters from Arki, Solan, Nalagarh and Boieluganj contained the fire, and an SDRF team is searching the structure for the missing.
- Police cited a burning brazier as the likely trigger while residents reported cylinder blasts, and authorities ordered a forensic probe and pledged ex-gratia aid after the operation.