Army major dies while trying to save pet dog from fire in Gulmarg

SRINAGAR: An army major, who rescued his wife and one of his dogs from a fire at an officers’ hut, died while trying to save his second dog in Gulmarg area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Sunday, the police said.

After asking other soldiers to take his wife to safety, major Ankit Budhraja of Corps Signals, attached with SSTC Gulmarg, went back inside the burning hut to save his second dog, the police said.

“The officer and his dog’s body were found in the same room. He had 90% burns,” said Gulmarg station house officer Aftab Ahmad. “He had earlier rescued his wife and another dog before attempting to save the trapped dog,” Ahmad said.

The 33-year-old major was a resident of Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh. “His wife is in shock

and has been shifted to a hospital in Srinagar,” SHO Ahmad said.

The police said that the officers’ residence hut, which caught fire, has four rooms in a row with a single point of entry/exit, and that the dog was trapped in the last room. “The fire erupted towards the front and spread to the back. When the major rushed in, he was unable to come out,” he added.

Earlier, he had rushed his wife and the first dog out of the hut and attempted to douse the fire himself till other soldiers at a camp came to help. He asked the soldiers to take his wife to safety before rushing in again.

“...he was being posted somewhere else and was scheduled to leave on Sunday. He had already packed his bags,” Ahmad said.

Army spokesman Rajesh Kalia confirmed the major’s death.

The police received information around 2.45am about the fire at the officers’ hut and said they could retrieve the body only after 4am when the blaze was brought under control by firefighters with the assistance of local police.

His body was shifted to sub-district hospital Tangmarg for medico-legal formalities. “It was then taken to 92 Base Army Hospital in Srinagar,” he said.

The police officer said that they have been trying to ascertain the cause of fire.

“There could be two reasons — either short circuit or a kerosene bukhari (traditional heater) which was being used in the hut. Officials from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) have taken samples and we can come to any conclusion after they file a report,” Ahmad said.