Fire in Calcutta market still burning

Posted 01 14 2008 11:36PM

CALCUTTA, India - Hundreds of residents were evacuated Monday as a towering fire in a central Calcutta market burned for the third straight day, fire officials said. Some 2,500 shops have been destroyed in the blaze, although there have been no serious injuries or deaths reported.

Firefighters continued battling the flames in the famous Burrabazar market's narrow, crammed lanes as a series of explosions Sunday night in a 14-story building sparked fears that the building could collapse, officials said.

Authorities had anticipated the explosions for days because the building was known to house large amounts of diesel fuel for the generator, said state fire official Gopal Bhattacharjee. The diesel blasts made the fire even stronger, he said.

While no one has been seriously injured or killed in the fire, Tej Narain Baidya, a trader whose shop was destroyed, died of a heart attack Sunday apparently after learning the extent of the damage, said B.D. Mimani, head of the market traders' association.

Mimani estimated the damage at more than $50 million. Virtually none of the shopkeepers at Burrabazar had insured their stores or their goods, he said.

Officials said it was not yet clear what started the blaze.