Alappuzha (Kerala) | A houseboat carrying guests caught fire at Punnamada on Sunday afternoon, officials said.

As the boat was near the shore, guests were quickly evacuated to safety, and no one was injured, officials from the Fire and Rescue Services added.

The incident occurred around 1 pm while food was being prepared for the guests, they said.

"Some negligence during cooking is suspected to have caused the fire, which also led to the bursting of a gas cylinder in the kitchen," a fire official said.

The fire destroyed the kitchen and a bedroom of the houseboat, he added.

Two fire tenders were sent by road, and a fire-tender boat was deployed to control the blaze.

It took approximately one-and-a-half hours to extinguish the fire, the official said.