Off the wire
• DPRK calls for end to "conservative politics" in South Korea  • Urgent: Alleged toxic gas attack kills 35 in northwest Syria  • Tokyo stocks close lower on firm yen, risk off mood after attack in Russia  • Chinese embassy commemorates People's Volunteers Army martyrs in DPRK  • Spotlight: St. Petersburg subway resumes operation, 11 killed in explosion  • Aussie market ends lower  • Philippine Duterte fires interior secretary over loss of trust, confidence  • Urgent: Fire destroys 150 shops in India's Odisha  • Interview: Unfair to blame China for U.S. job losses: leading U.S. expert on China  • China condemns terrorist attack on St. Petersburg subway  
You are here: 　 Home

2nd LD Writethru: 150 shops gutted in India's Odisha

Xinhua, April 4, 2017 Adjust font size:

At least 150 shops inside a vegetable market were gutted Tuesday in a devastating blaze in India's eastern state of Odisha, officials said.

The fire broke out early in the morning at Gole Bazar in Sambalpur district, about 273 km northwest of Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha.

No loss of life or burn injuries to anyone were reported in the incident.

"This morning a devastating blaze gutted over 150 small shops inside a vegetable market here," district collector Samarth Verma told Xinhua over telephone from Sambalpur.

According to Verma, the administration was trying to find out the cause of fire. However, prima-facie appears that short circuit might have triggered the blaze.

The officials of Odisha Fire Service rushed firefighters and over a dozen fire tenders to contain fire and douse the flames.

"The fire broke out at around 4:00 a.m. (local time) and after struggling hard for three hours, our personnel were able to contain flames and prevent it from spreading further," an fire service official said.

Chances of fire in villages and cites of India are usually high as people usually ignore safety standards vis-a-vis fire and store fuel and combustible materials in a haphazard manner. Endit