Hubballi, 23 Jan

The raging fire on Thursday gutted the fifth and fourth floors of Sukhasagar Metro Mall. Following the incident, Hubballi-Dharwad Police Commissioner N Shashi Kumar confirmed that a massive fire broke out on the fourth floor of the Maratha Galli shopping centre, then spread to the fifth floor, engulfing nearly 5,000 square feet on each level.

Providing more details on the incident, Shashi Kumar said, "In the Maratha Galli area, the Sukhasagar mall is a small mall of about five floors. The fire started on the 4th floor and later spread to the 5th floor, covering about 4,000-5,000 sq ft on each floor.

The cause of the fire, according to local people, is not entirely certain, but it seems to be a short circuit. Immediately, fire engines and fire department vehicles came, and they tried to put out the fire. As it is on the fifth and fourth floors, about 40-50 feet high, more vehicles with larger capacities are coming from different places.

Already three fire engines have installed in the centre. There hasn't been any reporting of injury or death of any individual. As of now, it seems to be damaged at one cloth centre and one furniture centre."

Firefighting teams and additional vehicles from nearby areas are struggling to douse the blaze that has been raging for over three hours.