By A Newsman

Kolkata, 06 October: THREE persons have died and a few others have been injured in a devastating fire at Tangra in east Kolkata early today afternoon.

The fire broke out in a storeroom of LPG and fuel at 204 Christopher Road located about a km away from ITC Sonar Hotel.

According to local residents, the fire started in the single-storey storeroom having asbestos roofing around 01 pm and soon one after another LPG cylinders started exploding.

This gave the fire a devastating shape. Storeroom owner Ram Avatar Agarwal, his younger brother Pawan Kumar, and an employee of theirs got trapped inside while trying to douse the flames along with a few others.

One by one seven fire tenders rushed to the spot and fire-fighters got to dousing the flames. With blast of LPG cylinders continuing and a huge thick covering the entire area, police suspended traffic movement between EM Bypass and Moulali.

By the time fire-fighters were able to contain the fire after struggling for nearly two hours, the three persons, who had got trapped inside, had been burned to death. The third victim could not be identified at the time of filing this report.

Some other people from the neighbourhood, who suffered grievous burns, have been admitted to nearby hospitals. The storeroom has been almost reduced into ashes.

Local residents complained that the LPG and fuel were being stored here illegally in the congested residential area. They said the fire was caused by spark from a nearby iron welding workshop and assumed a devastating shape.