A primary school run by the Bharat Sevashram Sangha (BSS) at Dalkhola in North Dinajpur district was gutted in a blaze on Sunday.

Firemen reached the spot and doused the flames in a couple of hours. A probe to ascertain the cause of the fire has begun.

Sources said that for many years, the BSS has been running the Swami Pranabananda Vidya Mandir, a Bengali-medium primary school in Collegepara of Dalkhola. As of now, there are 160 students at the institution which has classes from nursery to Class IV.

On Sunday morning, some residents saw the smoke billowing out of the institution and informed the BSS authorities at their temple nearby.

The police were informed. Soon, a police team with two fire engines reached the area. Because of bad road conditions, firemen had to face problems in bringing fire tenders near the school.

After two hours, the firemen controlled the blaze, but not before it gutted 13 tinned-roof classrooms and several documents.

At school, class exams have been on for the past few days.

“We are fortunate that the fire occurred on Sunday. The school was closed. There were no students, unlike weekdays,” said a local resident.

Officials of the Dalkhola fire station said they were conducting an inquiry. The police are also probing into the incident, said sources.