Fire in J-K civil secretariat annexe, no reports of injuries

A major fire broke out today inside the annexe of the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Secretariat complex in which the two-storey wooden structure was gutted but there were no immediate reports of injuries.

Flames and smoke were seen billowing from the wooden structure adjacent to the main building of the Civil Secretariat, the seat of the state government, minutes before the scheduled opening of the offices at 9.30 AM, officials said.

The building, which houses the offices of the accounts and treasuries among other departments and the record room, was engulfed in flames within no time, they said.

The fire was brought under control after several fire tenders fought the blaze for nearly two hours. The exact cause of the fire was not immediately known.

In a Twitter post, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the cause of the fire and the extent of the damage, particularly of records stored in the offices at the annexe will take some time to assess.

The annexe houses the offices of technical education, higher education, forest, accounts and treasuries, he said. The civil secretariat houses all the top government offices in the state including those of the chief minister.