Bhopal, April 7: In an unfortunate incident that resulted both in the loss of lives and property, a fire that took place following a storm in Hoshangabad district in Madhya Pradesh on Friday destroyed about 700 hectares of crops and killed three people. Over 17 people suffered injuries in the incident, said a report in IANS.

Talking to news agency IANS on Saturday, District Collector of Hoshangabad, Shailendra Singh, said that due to the strong winds on Friday night, the fire spread quickly in the farms of the village.

Fire tenders were rushed to the spot as soon as the incident was reported, and a huge fire-fighting operation was launched. Though the tenders brought the flames under control till Saturday morning, it could not stop the fire from destroying vast hectares of land.

Sources told the news agency that fire which originated from the waste or garbage of a nearby vacant farm, spread to the villages in the evening because of the strong winds.

Suddenly, the crops that were kept in the farms as well as the tools and instruments started burning. The fires were only doused after 12 hours of operations.

Congress leader and former Union minister Suresh Pachouri on Saturday visited the affected areas and assured those affected of all possible help. Former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh and BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan also met those affected from the area and assured them of help.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 07, 2019 12:33 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).