The blaze is suspected to have started after a gas cylinder burst at a tea shop at Shyam Shikar shopping complex in Bapunagar area of Ahmedabad city on Sunday. (Express Photo) TWENTY-EIGHT SHOPS were gutted after a fire broke out at a shop at Shyam Shikar shopping complex in Bapunagar area of Ahmedabad city on Sunday, fire officials said. No casualties were reported in the incident.
According to fire officials, the blaze is suspected to have started after a gas cylinder, kept at a tea shop in the left wing of the shopping complex, burst around 6 am. The fire gradually spread on the ground and first floors of the three-storey complex.
A total of 28 shops, including jewellery, eatery and electronic gadgets, on the ground and first floors of the complex, were completely damaged, fire officials said. A majority of the shops were closed at the time of the incident, they added.
Over a dozen fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the fire was brought under control by 7.45 am, Rajesh Bhatt, the additional chief fire officer, fire safety department of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation said.
“Preliminary investigation has revealed that the fire started when an LPG cylinder burst inside a tea shop, which was open at the time of the accident. The fire then caught a polyvinyl chloride (synthetic plastic polymer) advertising board and gradually spread to other shops. No fatalities or injuries have been reported. Fire department personnel responded swiftly to the distress call and the operation was completed in one-and-a-half hours,” Bhatt said.
Jaimin Patel, the owner of Khaudhara Point restaurant located in the shopping complex, said, “My restaurant is on the second floor and fortunately, the fire did not spread till there. Our restaurant was closed this morning.”
