A fire in Tangra on Wednesday night gutted 100-odd shanties, leaving nearly 1,000 homeless. The fire originated from a plastic footwear factory.

Two persons were injured while trying to escape the blaze. They have been admitted to NRS Medical College and Hospital, police said.

“Tiljala police station informed us about the fire in the shanties on DC Dey Road around 2.20 am. Four tenders were deployed and six more were sent later. The blaze was brought under control in two hours,” said D. Chakrabarty, a fire department officer. While the firemen were fighting the blaze, police cordoned off the entire area.

Mayoral council member (slum development) Abu Sufiyan visited the site and arranged for the relief of those rendered homeless. “We provided them with tarpaulin sheets. The mayor has also instructed us to distribute other relief material to them,” Sufiyan said.

Some local residents spotted smoke billowing out of the footwear factory around 1.30 am. They immediately raised an alarm and informed police and the fire brigade. “As it was midnight and most of the neighbourhood was asleep, the fire spread quickly from the factory to the adjoining shanties,” said Nur Alam Molla, a local resident.

Student missing: Upendra Sharma, a second-year mechanical engineering student of Bengal Engineering and Science University, has been missing since Thursday morning. He left a note in his hostel room that read: “I could no longer stay at the hostel. So I am leaving.” Sharma’s parents live in Asansol. A missing diary has been lodged with Shibpur thana.