Fire guts dozens of houses

BANJARMASIN, South Kalimantan: Fire gutted 47 houses, a number of shops and some food stalls in Paliwara village, Hulusungai Utara regency, some 205 km north of here, Antara has reported.

No fatalities occurred.

Police were still investigating the fire which was said to have started on Jalan Pambalah Batung, according to regency police chief Lt. Col. Ambaryono.

He said it took the fire brigade 2.5 hours to extinguish the fire because the distance of the fire to the river. There were no hydrants nearby. (swe)