180 thatched houses destroyed in fire mishap

Nearly 180 thatched houses were reduced to ashes in a major fire today at Pallam village in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, leaving more than 1,000 people homeless, police said.

However, no casualities have been reported in the mishap as of now. The blaze occured in the Katrakona Mandal of the district, where fire crackers are manufactured in most of the houses, officials said.

The exact cause of the fire is not yet known but officials suspect that a cracker explosion must have triggered the mishap.

A large number of fire extinguishers have been pressed into service to control the spreading flames.

Rescue operations are on and most of the people have been shifted to a nearby school building, revenue officials said.