A man died and two others were injured in a fire that broke out in a cluster of shops near Madhyamgram railway station on Wednesday afternoon.

Police said the trio were trying to remove items from a shop after the blaze broke out.

The injured were shifted to a nearby hospital, and their condition was said to be stable.

“We are trying to identify the victim. Primarily, we have learnt that he worked at a biryani shop, which was gutted in the fire. He was known as Kaka and was in his late sixties,” Priyabrata Roy, superintendent of police, Barasat police district, told Metro.

“The deceased was among those who were trying to remove items from the shop. While others managed to run out, he was trapped,” an officer said.

Four fire tenders battled the blaze that spread to several adjoining shops.

Eyewitnesses said the fire started possibly after an LPG cylinder at one of the shops exploded. The flames leapt and engulfed at least eight to nine shops, some of them eateries.

“Forensic experts will collect samples before ascertaining the exact cause of the fire,” a senior officer of Barasat Police district said. “The area has been cordoned off, and police teams have been deployed around the site. The deceased person’s post-mortem report is awaited.”

Bystanders said that around 2pm flames were seen leaping out from some of the shops. Black fumes filled the area, adjoining Madhyamagram station’s platform No. 1 on the Sealdah-Bongaon route.

Several passengers began running as the leaping flames reached the overhead electric wires beneath the rail overbridge. Some residents of apartments adjoining the shops scrambled out of their homes as fire tenders arrived and struggled to control the flames.

“The victim was possibly trapped inside the shop when it caught fire,” said a senior officer of the fire and emergency services department.

With the flames continuing to leap, officials from the fire department positioned themselves on the rail overbridge. Traffic on the overbridge was temporarily suspended to facilitate firefighting.

“There was a shop selling wooden logs, and the explosion possibly occurred there before the fire spread to other shops,” an official of the Madhyamgram municipality said.

“We had repeatedly warned shop owners to take proper precautions with gas cylinders, but they ignored the risks,” he said.