At least six houses were razed to the ground and seven others partially damaged in a fire at Jaigaon in Alipurduar district on Thursday night

Jaigaon, which sits on the India-Bhutan border, is 63km from the district headquarters of Alipurduar.

The fire was first spotted at the residence of Mohiruddinn Mia at Jharnanbusty around 11.45pm. Within minutes, the flames spread rapidly to adjacent houses in the congested locality.

The situation worsened after two LPG cylinders exploded.

Alima Khatun, an elderly woman, suffered burns as she could not move out of her house on time. She is under treatment at the Alipurduar district hospital.

Two fire engines from Phuentsholing in Bhutan, the commercial capital of the neighbouring country, were the first to reach the spot. Two fire engines from the Hasimara fire station also joined the operation.

“The narrow and congested roads in the area hampered the fire engines’ access to the site. After nearly three hours of continuous effort, the fire was brought under control,” said a resident.

A fire department officer said preliminary investigation suggested that an electrical short circuit had caused the blaze. The affected families have reportedly lost all their belongings and are now homeless.

“We have lost everything in the fire. If the administration does not help us, we will be in serious trouble. It is now difficult to arrange even two square meals for our family members. We could save nothing except our lives,” said Dildar Mia.

Ganga Prasad Sharma, the chairman of the Jaigaon Development Authority (JDA), said food grains and tarpaulins had been distributed among the affected families.

“We will request the administration to extend further assistance. We stand with the affected families,” he said.