Major fire breaks out at Acropolis Mall in Kolkata, no casualty reported

Kolkata, June 14 (IANS) A major fire broke out at the Acropolis Mall located in the Kasba locality in south Kolkata on Friday.

Although no casualty has been reported so far, a few persons reportedly fell sick because of the thick smoke that engulfed the popular shopping mall.

Teams from the state fire department and disaster management authorities successfully evacuated the visitors and the employees from the different outlets housed in the shopping mall.

Currently, 15 fire tenders are at the spot trying to extinguish the fire.

“The fire created panic among the people in the mall. There could have been a stampede but fortunately, that was averted,” said a fire official.

Fire Services Minister Sujit Bose, who rushed to the spot, said, “Right now our priority is to bring the fire under control. Once that is done, a detailed investigation will be conducted to ascertain the exact cause of the fire. Action will be taken if any negligence in following the fire safety norms is found.”

Fire officials suspect that the blaze occurred in the food court located on the fourth floor of the mall.

The electricity connection to the mall was immediately snapped, as the firemen broke many glass panels to quickly exhaust the smoke.

–IANS

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