Sixty houses gutted in major fire in Colombo

By Xinhua

Colombo : About 60 shanty houses were gutted in a major fire that broke out early Tuesday in a crowded residential area in this capital city of Sri Lanka.

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The fire broke out at north Colombo’s Mahawatta area around 12:30 p.m. local time and it spread out fast, the police said.

Initial investigations showed that a kerosene oil lamp used in one of the small dwellings that toppled had caused the fire.

The fire brigade with some 50 personnel took over an hour to douse the flames, the residents said.

No one was hurt in the incident, said the police, but over 50 families were displaced by the fire.