Seven persons were injured when a fire destroyed a house in Jyatha ward-27 of Thamel on Tuesday.

According to Metropolitan Police Circle, Durbarmarg, the fire broke out from the trekking gear shop of Pemba Dorje Sherpa, possibly due to excessive heat in a jet machine, and later spread to the entire four-storey house belonging to Suman sthapit at around 3:45 am today.

The fire turned into an inferno after around 25 oxygen gas cylinders kept at the shop of Sherpa started exploding.

Among the injured, four are undergoing treatment at the Mahankal-based Trauma Centre while three have already returned home after receiving primary treatment at the same health facility.

“Locals were left panic stricken following the incident and started to jump from roof to roof  to save their lives,” said DSP Dan Bahadur Malla of the Metropolitan Police Circle, Durbarmarg. Later, police rescued around 18 persons from the incident site.

DSP Malla said that houses belonging to Ajay Raj Sthapit and Gautam Tuladhar were partially damaged in the incident.

Meanwhile, Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Bidya Sundar Shakya reached the Trauma Centre to take stock of the injured persons.

The fire was later taken under control with the help of police personnel backed by locals at around 6 am.

DSP Malla said that properties worth around Rs 50 million were gutted in the fire.