New Delhi: A massive fire broke out at a shopping complex in Odisha’s Puri district on Wednesday night in which around 40 shops were gutted.
The fire originated at a garments shop on the first floor of Laxmi Market Complex on Grand Road around 9 pm, according to PTI. Gradually, the fire spread to other shops at the shopping complex and continued to remain unextinguished till Thursday afternoon.
Three people were reported to have been injured in the incident. They were stuck on the roof of the building and were rescued in an unconscious state. Ramesh Majhi, Chief Fire Officer told ANI that 12 fire tenders and 160 fire personnel were immediately deployed to douse the fire.
Though the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, it is suspected that an electrical short-circuit might have triggered the blaze.
The building is located close to the centuries-old Jagannath temple and is also surrounded by houses, a hotel and a bank on two separate floors.
On Thursday, an officer told ANI, that around 140 tourists were safely evacuated and are currently under observation. Adding that the situation is under control and an operation to douse off the fire is underway.
The director general of the fire services, SK Upadhyay said that three firefighters fell ill in the middle of the operations due to heat and smoke and had to be rushed to the hospital.
Upadhyay further said that despite attempts to bring the blaze under control the fire spread to nearby buildings.
A preliminary survey of the blaze scene was done last night and a secondary one on Thursday morning, Dr Kanwar Vishal Singh, SP, Puri told ANI.
Meanwhile, Puri MLA Jayant Sarangi, from BJP, claimed that the district administration has failed to ensure the installation of fire safety systems at the hotels and other establishments in the seaside town.