Overview

• Three Bangladeshi tourists were killed and seven others injured when a fire broke out in houseboats stationed in Dal Lake, a popular tourist spot in India's Kashmir region.
• The fire, which started in the early hours of Saturday, quickly spread to other boats moored nearby, resulting in the destruction of five houseboats and significant property damage.
• Preliminary investigations suggest that the fire was caused by faulty electric wiring, although some reports also mention the explosion of cooking gas cylinders after the blaze started.
• The incident occurred in the tourist hub of Dal Lake, known for its wooden houseboats where tourists often stay during their visit to Srinagar, the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
• The fire incident comes at a time when the Jammu and Kashmir region has been experiencing a record high in tourist arrivals, with over 16.2 million tourists in 2022, a boon for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.