Century-old Himachal palace gutted

SHIMLA - A century-old wooden palace in the Himachal Pradesh capital district was gutted in a massive fire Monday, officials said.

The historic palace at Kotkhai in Shimla district was ‘completely destroyed’ in a major fire within a few hours, Shimla Deputy Commissioner Amar Singh Rathore told IANS.

‘No one was injured in the fire incident.’

The 60-room palace belonged to the erstwhile princely state of Kothkhai, about 100 km from here.

‘At present, the family of Raghuvir Singh Rana was living in the palace. The family was in the palace at the time of incident,’ Rathore said.

The cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained, he said.