Major fire breaks out in Kolkata, several shanties gutted

Kolkata: A major fire broke out in Dum Dum area of Kolkata on Saturday morning, gutting several shanties in a slum, officials said.

However, no casualties have been reported so far in the incident that took place in Mela Bagan in Dum Dum area.

At least eight fire tenders have been pressed into service to douse the blaze, as thick smoke and flames were seen billowing from the shanties, which were predominantly made of plastic and other flammable materials, they said.

"Firefighting operations are underway as fire tenders are facing difficulties in accessing the location due to contested alleys but are trying our best to use alternate methods to douse the blaze," a fire department official said.

The cause of the blaze, however, is yet to be ascertained.

State fire minister Sujit Bose said that robots will be deployed wherever fire tenders are unable to access the spot.

CPI (M)'s Dum Dum Lok Sabha seat Sujan Chakraborty reached the spot and appealed to everyone to help the affected people.