14 Bru Burnt To Death At Tripura Refugee Camp

Agartala, Mar 19 : At least 14 people were Saturday burnt to death when a fire broke out at a refugee camp in north Tripura where Reang tribal migrants of Mizoram have been staying since 1997, an official said.

The fire broke out at the Naishing Para Reang refugee camp, one of the six camps set up under the Kanchanpur sub-division in north Tripura adjacent to western Mizoram.

"We have so far recovered seven bodies as the fire continues to rage in the makeshift camp, 165 km north of here," Kanchanpur sub-divisional magistrate Dilip Chakma told IANS over phone.

Several fire engines have been battling to douse the fire, whose cause was not known immediately.

Over 34,000 Reang tribals, locally called Bru, have been living in six camps in north Tripura's Kanchanpur sub-division since 1997. They fled western Mizoram after ethnic clashes with the majority Mizos following the killing of a Mizo forest official.