At least 20 people were injured as huge fire destroyed an entire village comprising 22 houses in the Shangla district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Thursday, DawnNews reported.

The fire initially broke out at a house in the Kas Manz Kaly village due to an electric short circuit and quickly engulfed the neighbouring houses, police said. Due to the remote location of the village, fire brigade vehicles could not reach the area on time.

Furthermore, the efforts of police officials, Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) volunteers and the locals to control the blaze could not be of much help due to the lack of resources and nightfall.

The PRCS in charge in Shangla, Jamal Fawad, said that medics provided first aid to 20 people who had been rescued, meanwhile, volunteers continued to try to rescue more residents.

One critically injured person was shifted to District Headquarters Hospital in Alpuri.

Kas Manz Kaly is a small village comprising 22 houses and almost all the houses suffered damage by the fire.

Since most houses in the village were built of wood, it did not take long for them to be engulfed by the blaze.

Police officials told DawnNews that it would be hard for most residents to rehabilitate their homes since they had minimal financial resources.