Massive fire erupts in New Alipore slums in Kolkata; no casualties

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], December 21 : A blaze erupted at a slum cluster in New Alipore area near Durgapur Bridge in Kolkata on Saturday evening, an official said, adding that the fire has been brought under control.
No casualties have been reported.
Abhijit Pandey, Director of Fire Service, told reporters, "The fire is completely under control. There is no chance of any further fire spread"
He said that the cause of the fire was being ascertained.
Speaking to ANI, the fire official said," The slum area is under the bridge. There were nearly 100 shanties. The fire broke out there. Sixteen fire tenders were engaged in the rescue operation".
"No loss of life has been reported. There is some loss of the property. We are analysing it," he said.

Meanwhile, a local alleged that several "illegal" slums have been made here on the railway land."It suddenly caught fire today at 6:45 pm. I promptly reported the incident to the local police station and the fire brigade."

"The fire brigade team arrived on time and started a rescue operation otherwise people would have lost their lives, " she said

Another local said that the slum is in a clustered area.

"It is a massive fire. Thanks to the police, administration and especially the Army. It is a crucial time. Everyone has suffered the losses (in the fire incident)," he added.
More details are awaited