Smoke rises from a commercial building where a fire brke out in central Kolkata, India, Oct. 19, 2017. A major fire broke out at a highrise office building in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata on Thursday, officials said. (Xinhua/Tumpa Mondal)
NEW DELHI, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- A major fire broke out at a highrise office building in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata on Thursday, officials said.
"The blaze began around 10:30 a.m. (local time) on the 16th floor of the commercial building on Jawaharlal Nehru Road in central Kolkata. The fire gutted the floor which housed server room of State Bank of India, the country's largest state-owned bank," a senior police official said.
However, there have been no reports of any casualty in the incident, with Thursday being a national holiday for the occassion of Diwali, festival of lights. "Few people who were inside the building were soon evacuated," the official said.
State Bank of India officials said that the server room was completely destroyed in the fire. "But so far we don't have any news of anyone getting stuck on the 16th floor," the bank's Chief General Manager (Kolkata circle), P.P. Sengupta, told the media.
Local TV channels reported that 10 fire tenders have rushed to douse the raging fire that has spreading to upper floors.
"The building has 19 floors. The fire is currently restricted to the 16th floor. But we are doing our best to control the fire so that it does not engulf the upper floors. Few hydraulic cranes have also been brought to control the inferno," a fire official said.
A probe has been ordered into the incident, he added.
Fires are common in highrise buildings in India due to lack of regards for fire safety norms. Several people die in fire incidents across the country every year.
