Kathmandu: A massive fire broke out in Nepal`s Langtang National Park Area on Thursday, triggering rumours that the blaze was caused by volcanic eruption.

However, later the Nepal Army officials confirmed that it was indeed a forest fire and not a volcano eruption.
According to sources, the army battalion deployed in the area had informed about the smoke and fire to the Army Headquarters this morning.
About four kilometres of the park, located north of Kathmandu was gutted in the fire. There is no human settlement in the area which is mostly covered by rock, Nepal Army spokesperson Suresh Sharma said. "After carrying out aerial inspection of the surrounding area, we came to the conclusion that it was a forest fire, not a volcanic eruption," Sharma said.
The dry grass and fodder of the area might have caught fire, as per our initial investigation but the detail investigation is yet to be carried, he added. Senior geologist Dharma Raj Khadka told `Nepalnews` that that it was highly unlikely that a volcanic eruption had taken place in the area. "There might be other reasons behind the `explosion`," he said.
PTI