Massive fire guts market in Middle Andaman

It was one of the main markets in the Middle Andaman district and nearly 40-50 shops were gutted in the blaze.

Port Blair: A massive fire gutted the Rangat Market in Middle Andaman in the early hours of Tuesday, officials said.

Nearly 40-50 shops were gutted in the blaze, they said.

"We received a call around 1.15 am about the fire. We immediately responded with five fire tenders but the blaze spread rapidly due to the wooden structures of the market," Rahul Nair, Sub-divisional Police Officer of Rangat, said.

"There have been no casualties. I would like to thank the shopkeepers for their cooperation," he said.

It was one of the main markets in the Middle Andaman district, and more than 70 years old.

In the morning, shopkeepers were seen taking their partially-damaged belongings out of their shops.

"I am completely devastated by the incident as I have lost items worth lakhs of rupees. We demand a proper inquiry into the incident to find what exactly caused the fire," Litton Paul, the owner of Kolkata Cloth Store, told PTI.

Another trader alleged that some miscreants took advantage of the fire and stole items from the affected shops.