Crores lost in major fire at oil factory in Bengal's Howrah

Kolkata: A major broke out at an edible oil factory in West Bengal 's Howrah district on Saturday morning leading to a loss of a few crores of rupees.

However, no casualties have been reported in the incident as of now.

According to police, the fire that broke out at Sankrail Industrial Park this morning, continues to rage despite the passage of six hours.

A total of 12 fire tenders are currently at the spot with the firefighters trying their best to control the inferno.

Though no casualties have been reported, the estimated loss because of the fire is a few crores of rupees.

The loss in terms of both the huge quality of edible oil stocked at the factory and as well the sophisticated and modern production machines there.

"Because of the storage of edible oil, the fire spread extremely fast and also sustained for a prolonged period of time. Fortunately, when the fire broke out there was no one inside and hence so far there has been no report of any casualty," said a fire officer present at the spot.

Shankar Bhattacharya, an employee of a warehouse adjacent to the factory where the fire broke out, said that the fire started at the back side of the factory, where a huge quantity of edible oil was stocked.

"Soon, the blaze engulfed the factory. Fortunately there was no one within the factory at that point of time. The security personnel were outside the factory gate and hence they managed to escape to a safe distance," he said.

Commissioner of Howrah City Police is currently monitoring the situation at the spot.