A massive fire broke out in a multi-storey building in Sydney, Australia. Firefighters are battling the blaze while emergency services have cordoned off the area for safety. Hundreds of people have been evacuated from the area as the fire burns through several levels of the multi-storey building on Randle Street near Central Station. Emergency services said they deployed more than 100 firefighters, with 20 fire trucks, who were "working to contain and extinguish the blaze". Black smoke is billowing from the building and firefighters are hosing the blaze from an aerial work platform.
Burning embers were seen flying onto a balcony in a nearby building, as per the report. As per The Guardian, authorities say the building is starting to collapse, and flames are beginning to spread to nearby residential apartments. An onlooker said seeing parts of the burning building falling down onto the footpath of a street. “At least one vehicle in the vicinity has also been destroyed by fire.”
"Terrible fire in Surry Hills in my electorate. Please stay safe and listen to instructions from emergency services," lawmaker Tanya Plibersek said in a statement on Twitter.
"The public is urged to avoid the area as firefighting operations continue," the fire service said, as the sound of emergency vehicle sirens echoed through the city streets.
Meanwhile, rail services near the blaze have been suspended until further notice, New South Wales Transport said.
According to the New South Wales police, so far there has been no information of any casualties. In a statement, Fire and Rescue say they received multiple triple zero calls just after 4 pm when flames started engulfing the seven-storey building, as per The Guardian.
Images posted on social media showed flames almost as high as the building itself shooting into the sky.