Burning houseboat drifts mid-river in Goa

Panaji, Aug 30 (IANS) A houseboat with an onboard floating restaurant, anchored near Morjim beach in North Goa caught fire on Friday and has drifted mid-river, even as fire and emergency department personnel have climbed onboard to douse the flames.According to a spokesperson of the state government's Fire and Emergency Services department, no casualties have been reported."We got a distress call around 11 a.m. which said that a houseboat anchored near Morjim beach had caught fire. Two fire tenders were rushed to the spot," the spokesperson said.During the fire fighting operation, the boat has drifted to the middle of the Chapora river in which it was anchored. According to the officials, there was no one onboard when the fire started.The cause of the fire is not known yet.
--IANS maya/dpb