Fire kills at least 14 refugees in India

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AGARTALA, India, March 19 (UPI) -- A fast-spreading fire killed at least 14 people at a refugee camp in northeastern India Saturday, regional officials said.

Firefighters described the blaze as an inferno that obliterated every building in a half-mile radius, The Times of India reported. Fire spokesman Amitabha Kar said most of the bodies recovered were children and the death toll in the community of thatched huts would undoubtedly rise.

"The fire went beyond control immediately as the entire area is dry and windy," he said. "Worse, there is no water source near the camp to help the firefighters."

Officials said at least 100 people were injured.

The camp is home to some 3,700 Reang refugees displaced by ethnic unrest in 1997.