Woman Dies in Shop Fire, Bank Catches Fire

Bhubaneswar: A woman tragically lost her life after her shop caught fire in the Pattamundai area of Odisha’s Kendrapara district on Sunday.

The deceased, identified as Kamala Sahoo of Baktarpur village, owned a betel shop in the local market where she also sold petrol. According to locals, the fire broke out while she was performing Puja after opening her shop in the morning. The fuel stored in plastic bottles and jerrycans suddenly ignited, rapidly engulfing the shop.

Sahoo was trapped in the flames and suffered severe burns. Fire services personnel and police rushed to the scene and managed to douse the fire, but she was critically injured. She was immediately taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared her brought dead. The shop was completely gutted in the fire. Police have registered an unnatural death case and initiated an investigation.

In a separate incident, a major fire broke out at the Punjab National Bank branch in Durga Bazar, Jagatsinghpur, on Sunday. Fortunately, no casualties were reported as the bank was closed.

Local residents noticed thick smoke coming from the bank in the morning and alerted the fire services department. Firefighters arrived promptly and brought the blaze under control within 30 minutes. While the exact cause is yet to be determined, officials suspect an electrical short circuit triggered the fire. Several important documents, computer systems, and electronic equipment were reportedly damaged.

The Fire Department has launched an investigation to ascertain the exact cause of the fire.