Over 20 shops gutted in fire at Delhi's Jhandewalan cycle market

Over 20 shops were gutted in a massive fire that broke out in central Delhi's Jhandewalan cycle market on Friday afternoon, officials said.

Information about the blaze was received at 2.05 pm following which 27 fire tenders were rushed to the spot, they said, adding that the flames were brought under control by 4.30 pm.

No causality was reported, officials said.

Director, Delhi Fire Services, Atul Garg said over 20 shops were gutted in the fire.

"The fire has been put out. The operation went on for 2.5 hours and no casualty has been reported. More than 20 shops were gutted. However, the exact amount of damage will be known later," he said.

The congested road and parking posed problems in conducting fire fighting operations, he said.

"The fire spread so fast because of the presence of highly combustible substance like -polythene and tyres, Garg said.

Delhi Health minister Satyendar Jain tweeted about the incident.

"In an unfortunate incident, a fire broke out in Delhi's Jhandewalan cycle market near Videocon Tower. 27 fire tenders were rushed to the accident spot. Our brave fire fighters have successfully controlled the situation. No casualties have been reported so far," he tweeted.

On Thursday, a 42-year-old man was killed and six others were injured when a fire broke out at an electric goods factory in northeast Delhi's Mustafabad area.

On May 13, at least 27 people were killed after a massive blaze engulfed a commercial building in Delhi's Mundka area.