Kumbh mela fire: 1 person killed as devotees gather for 'Shahi Snan'

A fire broke out at the Maha Kumbh Mela today, leaving one person dead and two others injured.

The fire mishap took place on a day when lakhs of devotees have gathered for the 'Shahi Snan' on the occasion of Basant Panchami.

"An unidentified person was killed in the fire that broke out in Sector 4 of the Kumbh Mela area early this morning.

"Two persons sustained minor injuries while the fire was brought under control quickly, though about 10 tents were gutted by the time", SSP (Kumbh) R K S Rathore said.

He said prima facie the fire was caused by a short circuit and the person, who got killed, "probably was fast asleep and could not run out of his tent before getting engulfed in flames".

In another incident that took place some 5 kms away, 10 tents were gutted in a fire late last night when pilgrims were having their dinner inside a camp of a religious organization.

However, nobody was injured in the incident, sources in the Mela administration said.

The Maha Kumbh congregation, which commenced on January 14, has so far witnessed a number of fire-related incidents, most notable of these being the one on January 25 which had left 19 people seriously injured out of whom as many at least five have succumbed to their injuries so far.

Meanwhile, the Shahi Snan on the occasion of Basant Panchami is going on peacefully and quietly as "Akharas" had taken a decision to take out their processions without the usual fanfare in view of the February 10 stampede at the Allahabad Junction Railway Station which had claimed 36 lives.

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