Fire breaks out at major commercial building in Assam's Guwahati

Guwahati, Dec 10 (PTI) A major fire broke out at a commercial complex, housing several offices of State Bank of India, in Assam’s Guwahati, a senior official said on Wednesday.

Fire tenders have been tying to douse the flame for more than 15 hours, he said.

One fire fighter has suffered a minor injury so far, the official of the Fire & Emergency Services told PTI.

"The fire broke out at Swagata Square complex in ABC Point around midnight. Our personnel immediately responded to the call and reached the spot within 15 minutes. We managed to stop the fire from spreading," he said.

The multi-storey building houses SBI's Zonal Office, commercial branch and the premium banking branch, besides a shopping mall.

"The fire originated at the godown of the mall on the second floor. As a lot of inflammable materials and clothes were stored, it turned into a massive blaze. We have contained it in the rest of the building, though the fire is still raging in one corner of the godown," he said.

"We have pressed into service 22 fire tenders in the operation. We also received prompt support from the Air Force, Indian Army and Guwahati Refinery," the official said.

Apart from Guwahati, fire tenders arrived from Morigaon and Nalbari districts as well, while more were on the way from Darrang district, he said.

The NDRF was also called in to assist with its high-tech smoke reduction machine.

"We hope that the fire will be fully doused within the next one hour. The entire structure is huge, which is why it is taking longer," the senior IPS officer said. PTI TR RBT