7-year-old boy dies in Solan fire; shops gutted, people trapped

A boy, around seven, died in a fire that broke out in the Old Bus Stand area in Arki subdivision of Solan district, police said on Monday. The fire that broke out late Sunday night gutted several shops. A few people are still feared trapped, they said. Fire tenders were rushed from Arki, Solan, Nalagarh, and Boieluganj in Shimla beside the Ambuja plant.

The boy was charred in a UCO Bank branch that also caught the fire, Solan Superintendent of Police Solan Gaurav Singh said on Monday. Efforts are on to douse the fire and prevent it from spreading to other structures.