Cuttack: A fire broke out at a shopping mall here Tuesday, reducing valuables worth lakhs of rupees to ashes before firefighters controlled it, police said.
No injuries or casualties were reported in the incident, they added.
Local residents noticed smoke billowing from a showroom dealing with briefcases and trolley bags located inside the mall at Dolamundai and alerted police and fire services.
While the exact cause of the fire was yet to be determined, it is suspected that a short circuit in the air conditioner may have triggered the blaze.
The mall houses several popular brands of clothing, luggage and footwear.
A fireman said the intensity of the fire was high due to the plastic materials used in the trolley bags, which fueled the flames.
“However, our timely intervention helped contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading to other shops,” he said.
Six fire tenders and 30 personnel were deployed in the firefighting operation, which lasted over two hours before the inferno was fully brought under control, an official added.
PTI
