By IANS,
Pune : At least 15 customers and staffers were rescued from a major fire that broke out in a shopping mall here Thursday evening, a fire official said.
“The fire broke out in the basement of the Koregaon Plaza, a mall in the Koregaon Park area. So far we have rescued around 15 people and are trying to ascertain if more people are inside. Till now, there are no casualties,” Pune’s Chief Fire Officer Prashant Ranpise told IANS.
The blaze, which broke out around 5.15 p.m. quickly spread to the first floor and the surrounding areas.
Ranpise said that a warehouse belonging to the national retail chain Shoppers Stop was virtually gutted in the fire, the cause of which is not yet known.
The entire area has been cordoned off, all shoppers from the remaining floors and surrounding areas have been evacuated as the fire brigade continued to fight the blaze.
The blaze came on the same day as a major fire swept through the three top floors of the seven-storeyed Mantralaya or state secretariat in Mumbai.