India / Major fire breaks out at 3 factories in Ahmedabad; no casualties

AHMEDABAD: A major fire broke out in a chemical factory and spread to some adjoining units in Vatva industrial area of Gujarat's Ahmedabad city in the wee hours of Wednesday, officials said.

There was no report of any casualty, they said.

The fire also gutted some temporary shelters of construction workers near the factory, but they managed to move out to a safer place in time, additional chief fire officer Rajesh Bhatt said.

The blaze started in the chemical unit around 1am and quickly spread to four factories located in the vicinity, said Bhatt, who led the firefighting operation.

"Around 40 fire fighting vehicles were pressed into service. The blaze was brought under control after about four hours. Water is still being sprayed as part of the cooling operation," another official from the fire brigade control room said.

No one was injured or killed in the fire, Bhatt said.

The chemical unit and four other factories located near it were gutted in the blaze, he said.

The cause of the the fire was not yet known, he said, adding that the chemical factory was not operational since some time.