Elderly woman dies in Bettiah house fire

Bettiah: An 85-year-old woman was charred to death after a massive fire broke out in a three-storey house at Janata Chowk in Bettiah of West Champaran district on Monday evening. The house belongs to one Jitendra Prasad. The victim was identified as Bulachi Devi (85), a resident of Janata Chowk.Town police SHO Manoj Kumar Singh said, “Prima facie, it appears the woman was trapped on the first floor and died in the blaze. The exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. Further investigation is underway.”Eyewitness Ramesh Kumar said, “We suddenly saw smoke and flames rising from the house and rushed to the spot. People were running frantically as the fire spread. The fire department was alerted, and three firefighting trucks arrived to douse the flames. The woman was taken to the hospital by family members and locals, but doctors declared her dead.”