Fire breaks out at South City Mall in Kolkata

So far, Five fire tenders have been rushed to the spot.

Kolkata, Dec 4: A fire broke out at Kolkata's South City Mall on Sunday morning. All present at the mall were immediately evacuated and there were no immediate reports of any casualties.

Eighteen fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames, noticed at around 9.15 AM in the false ceiling of the food court on the third floor of the mall, a senior police officer said.

People watching movies at a multiplex inside the mall in the southern part of the city, workers of various stores as well as security guards were evacuated.

There was no report of casualty, the officer added. Power supply was cut off and fire fighters found it quite difficult to go inside the building as thick smoke engulfed the interior of the mall on posh Prince Anwar Shah Road. Traffic was stopped in front of the mall as curious onlookers gathered there.

A team from the Kolkata Police's disaster management group also rushed to the spot. A fibre glass wall in the food court was demolished to let the smoke out, a fire brigade officer said. State Fire and Emergency Services Minister and city Mayor Sovan Chatterjee also visited the scene.

"Fire is absolutely under control as our fire officers fought bravely to douse the fire. They are still using water to douse fire in pockets," he said after coming out of the mall. "Looking by the nature of it, it seems the fire was caused due to short circuit," he added. The mall authorities have decided to keep the place closed for today.

OneIndia News (with PTI inputs)