At least three dead and multiple employees are reported to be trapped inside two adjacent storage spaces in east Calcutta’s Anandapur where a fire broke out in the wee hours of Monday.
Around 12 fire tenders have been busy fighting with the flames though it is yet to be brought doused completely.
According to reports, the fire broke out at one of the storage units reserved for food items sold by an online delivery company and soon spread to the adjoining one used for storing decorative items.
The family members of one of the employees, Pankaj Haldar, who is still missing, said he had called a little after 3am on Monday and cried for help.
“He said he was stuck inside the unit and there were others with him. The flames, he said, were spreading fast all over the place,” a family member said.
The firefighting operations have been on for over 10 hours.
The fire brigade is yet to confirm whether any of the employees in the storage unit are trapped inside and how long it could take to take them out.
State power minister Aroop Biswas visited the site at Anandapur while the firefighting efforts were on and spoke with the locals as well as the family members of those missing.
“The fire is under control now, but there is thick smoke inside. Unless the smoke is cleared, the firemen cannot enter. Efforts are on to find the people who are reported to be missing,” Aroop told the media.
Fire at a residential building in Mullick Bazar. Picture by: Soumyajit Dey
While efforts were on to bring the Anandapur fire under control, a domestic gas cylinder exploded inside a flat in central Calcutta’s Mullickbazar locality. Some fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the building evacuated.