Three bodies were recovered from the houseboats gutted in a blaze in the Dal Lake here on Saturday, officials said.

The charred bodies were recovered in the early hours of Saturday near ghat number nine, the officials said.

They said the deceased's identification was being ascertained. The deceased included a man and a woman, while the third victim's gender could not be ascertained so far.

The fire broke out in the tourist hub of the Dal Lake early Saturday, destroying property worth crores of rupees, officials said.

The cause of the fire, which consumed five houseboats and an equal number of huts attached to them, was not immediately known.

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