Guwahati, April 11: At least nine houses were gutted in a fire that broke out after LPG cylinders exploded at Uzan Bazar Railway Colony here this morning.

Witnesses said at least three LPG cylinders burst in the area within minutes after which a crowd gathered at the site.

"Local residents had to break open a pipe that goes into the colony to collect water in buckets and douse the flames. But fortunately the houses were vacant as people went to cast their votes," said Sitaram Chauhan, a mason who lives in the colony.

Sources in the Fire and Emergency Services, Assam, said no casualty or injuries had been reported.

"We rushed to the site within minutes after being informed at 10.15am. Nine fire tenders were pressed into service and the flames were doused within an hour. However, we had difficulty in entering the colony as the lane was too narrow," R.C. Bhakat, a senior official of the Fire and Emergency Services, Assam, told The Telegraph. A few residents showed the blown-to-bits cylinders to a few reporters present at the site.

"Please let us in. We rushed home after being informed about the fire. We were waiting in the queue to cast vote since early morning," a nervous Neha Paswan told a policewoman, while trying to plough her way through a queue at the Happy Villa LP School around noon.

"Our house has been gutted," Neha said.

The colony has several houses and a few shops on either side of a narrow lane. Most of the residents of the colony belong to the low-income group.