More than 15,000 chicks die in fire

By Anil Parajuli, Hetauda, Jan 3: More than 15,000 chicks have been destroyed in a fire that broke out in Gaurigaun, Hetauda Sub-metropolitan City-17.

According to the Bagmati Province Police Office, 15,182 chicks died in the fire that broke out at around 4:45 PM on Friday.

Bagmati Province Police Office spokesperson Superintendent of Police Mukunda Prasad Rijal said that the fire caused damage worth around Rs. 2.2 million.

According to him, out of the 16,082 three-day-old chicks kept in the cage, 900 were rescued. The rest died in the fire.

Initial investigations have revealed that the fire broke out when the temperature of the gas burner used to brood chicks at the Pashupati Poultry Farm, of 41-year-old Raju Adhikari of Hetauda Sub-metropolitan City-8, rose too high, igniting the chaff spread on the ground.

Police said there was no human or other material damage from the fire.

The fire was brought under control after about an hour with the help of locals and police, according to the temporary police post in Hatiya.