Fourteen people were killed and another 12 seriously injured after a fire raged through a hotel in Kashmir, Indian Police said today.
The blaze last night occurred in the New Light hotel in Sopore, 33 miles north of Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu-Kashmir state, said Mr Ashok Bhan, the state's head of police.
The bodies were removed from the building after the fire was put out by authorities, he said.
"The fire seems to have been caused by either an electrical short circuit or the bursting of a cooking gas cylinder."
He ruled out the possibility of sabotage by Islamic guerrillas, who have been fighting Indian forces since 1989 to separate Kashmir from India.
The victims were traders from different northern Indian states who had travelled to the area for work, officials said.
AFP