A portion of eastern India’s largest wholesale fruit market was gutted in a fire on Sunday morning.

The fire started around 9am at 4 Ballab Dutta Street at Mechhua, before spreading to a three-storeyed building, said Nurul Anwar, the officer-in-charge of Jorasanko police station.

Fourteen fire tenders took over an hour to douse the flames. There was no casualty, said the police.

“A portion of the fruit market was destroyed in the blaze. The extent of the damage is yet to be estimated. It appears that a short circuit caused the blaze. We have registered a case and an investigation is on to find out if there was any foul play,” he added.

Local residents saw smoke coming out of the market and raised an alarm. By the time the police and the fire brigade arrived, the entire area was engulfed in smoke. There was panic when the flames spread to the ground floor of the adjacent building.

“Grown-ups and children ran out of their homes. There are a couple of offices and a bank on the first floor of the building. Luckily, the fire didn’t spread there,” said local resident Abdul Sheikh.

“I was having tea at a roadside stall when I first saw the smoke. Initially, I thought that someone had lighted a bonfire to ward off the chill, but the smoke kept getting thicker. I, along with some neighbours, called up the police headquarters at Lalbazar,” added another local resident.

The firemen arrived half an hour later and barricaded the area. Those trapped in the building were evacuated.

“About 150 people live in the building and most of them had panicked. There could have been a stampede,” said a fireman.

“Three local residents had sustained minor injuries. They were discharged after treatment at Medical College and Hospital,” said Anwar.