Nearly two weeks after 93 people died in the AMRI hospital blaze, another major fire broke out at a rubber footwear manufacturing unit in the city's eastern suburbs, but there were no reports of any injury.

Two hundred firemen with 20 engines brought the massive blaze that swept through four floors of the unit in the congested Tiljala locality under control after a marathon 14-hour operation, officials said, adding there was no casualty in the incident that took place at around 10.50 pm last night.

Inflammable materials

The building was packed with highly inflammable articles such as rubber, leather and combustible chemicals, fire brigade sources said.

Local residents rushed out to safety, they said, adding the top two floors of the building were gutted. Police said several cracks had developed in the four-storey structure due to intense heat.

The Chief Minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee, went to the spot after midnight along with the Union Minister of State for Shipping, Mr Mukul Roy, and the Disaster Management Minister, Mr Javed Khan.

The Kolkata Police Commissioner, Mr R.K. Pachnanda, and senior fire service officials camped at the spot till mid-day, the officials said.

Mr Khan later told reporters that a fire brigade unit would be set up along the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass at the earliest.

Forensic probe

He said forensic experts would probe the cause of fire which was primarily due to storage of highly inflammable articles.

No fire safety

Noting that there was no fire-fighting arrangement inside the building, the Minister said any violation of fire safety rules would be inquired into. The latest incident of fire follows the deadly AMRI hospital inferno 12 days ago. A devastating blaze had also ripped through the Stephen Court building in March last year, killing over 40.

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