Under-construction building catches fire, no casualties

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: A twelve-storeyed under-construction building caught fire near Konanakunte Cross in Bengaluru on Saturday afternoon and no casualties were reported.

The incident came to light around 12:45pm when the residents of nearby apartments began to notice smoke rising from the building, which was under construction mall. Three fire engines and police officials rushed to the spot and carried out the necessary operations to douse the fire and prevent it from spreading to neighboring properties.

Jayanth, who stays near the building, said, “We noticed smoke rising from the top of the building in the afternoon, which turned massive within a few minutes.”

The residents were aware of the mall being constructed near the popular Prestige Falcon City in the area. “Horrified at the sight of such thick smoke, residents around the building we rushed out of their houses,” he told News Trail.

Reportedly, there were 11-12 construction workers inside the building as the thick smoke started engulfing the streets and roads around it. Sources say that though there were no casualties reported, the roof of the building and other construction materials which had been stored on the top floor were damaged due to the incident.

“The smoke was such that the visibility around the building vicinity was very low and the motorists found it very difficult to drive through,” Rishab Jain, one of the usual commuters of the Konanakunte Cross said.

While the exact cause of the fire breakout is yet to be ascertained, the police suspected that the inflammable materials stored in the building might have been the reason for the fire and smoke. Initial enquiries revealed that a cinema theatre was being constructed on one of the floors of the mall.

“Heavily furnished and stored with blue board foams, PoP and other materials in the building, the flames might have easily spread releasing the thick smoke out of the building,” Konanakunte police said. “Preliminary checks also revealed that the fire broke out only on one of the top floors,” the official added.

“The construction work of the building started almost two years ago. By March this year, the mall was set for inauguration,” Jayanth added.