Guwahati: A woman and her three children were burnt alive in their sleep after a fire swept through the densely populated Parsi-Parlo township in Arunachal Pradesh’s Kurung Kumey district early Thursday, completely destroying 19 kutcha houses and partially damaging five structures.The fire broke out around 1am and quickly spread from one house to another. The deceased were identified as Dongda Yanu, in her 30s, and her three children — sons Dongda Karsang and Dongda Maji, and daughter Dongda Amji. All four were asleep when the fire engulfed the house, locals said. Their charred bodies were difficult to identify, officials said.Yanu’s husband, Dongda Taji, suffered serious burn injuries and was taken to a hospital in Itanagar.“Preliminary investigations suggest that the fire originated in a local kitchen before spreading to neighbouring houses,” a district official said.The township, located between the Parsi and Parlo rivers, has a densely packed settlement, allowing the flames to spread rapidly. Authorities have appealed to residents to decongest the area and relocate to nearby locations.“The town is very compact and the population is concentrated in one area. So fire quickly engulfed the area,” the official said.The township’s difficult terrain and poor road connectivity hampered the emergency response. The nearest fire station and emergency services station are at Koloriang, the district headquarters, around 45 km away. By the time fire and emergency officials reached the area around 10am — nearly nine hours after the blaze began — the houses had been reduced to ashes.“Since everything was already finished by morning, the fire tenders did not arrive. Only officials came for assessment,” a district official said.Additional deputy commissioner Nabam Tajik said residents barely had time to save their belongings as the fire spread while they were asleep. “People could not collect any item as they just woke up from deep sleep and ran for safety. The damage will be in crores,” he said.The District Disaster Management Authority has set up a relief camp at the Government Secondary School in Parsi-Parlo, where 23 people from three families are taking shelter. Another 16 families have moved into the homes of relatives in the township.CM Pema Khandu expressed grief over the tragedy and said the incident had left several families homeless.“The reports of loss of lives and missing family members make this tragedy even more heartbreaking. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. I pray for strength and courage for everyone affected by this unfortunate incident,” Khandu wrote in a social media post.The latest tragedy comes months after Parsi-Parlo, a remote border township located in difficult hilly terrain, suffered widespread devastation from flash floods triggered by continuous monsoon rain.
