A massive fire broke out in a cloth showroom in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh on the intervening night of January 31 and February 1.
The incident occurred in Dhauli Piao area of Kotwali city in the district. As per the latest reports, the fire was doused after nearly four hours.
The three-storey showroom was completely gutted in the fire.
The fire brigade was informed and a dozen fire tenders were rushed to the spot to bring the fire under control. Efforts were also made to douse the fire by pouring water from nearby hotels and houses.
The heat from the burning showroom was such that the locals were left sweating in the biting cold.
Cloths and shoes worth lakhs were burnt to ashes due to the fire.
The firefighters initially faced great difficulty dousing the flames as high-speed winds acted as a catalyst in the spread of the fire.
Efforts were made to control the fire by pulling down the front part of the showroom with a bulldozer.
"The three floors of the building caught fire. 6-7 fire tenders are present on spot. Fire is under control now, we didn't let the fire spread to adjacent buildings," said the Fire Officer.
Fire officials at the spot said that preliminary investigations revealed a short circuit to be the cause of the fire.
Mathura City SP and the Chief Fire Officer of Mathura arrived at the spot to take stock of the situation.
( With inputs from ANI )
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