Delhi: Malviya Nagar fire rages on, IAF chopper pressed into service to douse flames

A massive fire erupted in Delhi's Malviya Nagar area on Tuesday evening which raged on for hours and almost 35 fire tenders had to pressed into service to contain the flames. The fire fighting is still underway and reports say it would take 3-4 hours more to douse the flames completely.

"'Fire is under control now. 15 fire tenders are currently at the spot. It will take 3-4 more hours to completely douse the fire," news agency ANI quoted Delhi's deputy chief fire officer as saying.

As per reports, it was initially a truck that caught fire and later the flames spread to a school building and a gymnasium. The truck that was carrying rubber sheets from the godown suddenly caught fire and spread to the godown in no time.

A fire fighter is said to have fallen unconcious, but otherwise there have been no casualities.

Delhi Fire Services confirmed that they recieved a call at 6 pm on Tuesday evening after which fire tenders were rushed to the spot.

According to reports, police evacuated some of the nearby residential buildings. Residents spotted smoke billowing out of a building even from a distance of about 5 kilometres.

AAP legislator Somnath Bharti said the incident brings to fore his pending demand of a fire station nearby. On whether the godown was being illegally run, Somnath said it is a matter of investigation, reported HT.