Spot Report by Daijiworld Team (Viju Mangalore and Dayanand Kukkaje) - Tuesday, 5-30 pm

• Major Fire at a Shopping Mall near Lady Goschen Leaves City Shocked
• Heart of Mangalore City Engulfed in Thick Smoke
• Best Efforts by Fire Brigade Go Futile

Mangalore, Feb 14: Hampankatta, the heart of Mangalore City was shrouded with thick smoke on Tuesday evening as the city witnessed the worst fire mishaps in recent times. The fire which broke in a plastic godown on the top-most floor of Linking Towers situated between Central Theatre and Lady Goschen Hospital, turned into an aggressive mode as the fire spread to the other rooms.

Despite the best efforts by the fire brigade, the fire has not been controlled.

Although the fire brigade made it to the spot by 12.30 pm, the close knit grills of the windows did not permit water to get into the building. The godown, said to belonging to the Plasto Plus Company, was completely gutted down with flames emanating from the building.

As the flames grew intense and uncontrollable, the sky lift of Mangalore City Corporation and additional fire extinguishers from MRPL and MCF were rushed to the spot. Fear grew among the people as the building developed cracks due to the rising heat.

Daijiworld reporters on the spot informed the traffic has been diverted from Jyoti circle and efforts were made to evacuate the people and vehicles to facilitate the work of the fire service department.

The thick smoke engulfed the roads of Hampankatta with nearly zero visibility and the hundreds of curious onlookers were driven by the police who even resorted to lathi charge.

Police vehicles with loud speakers were also used to appeal to the people to clear the roads.

All the shops and commercial establishments were ordered to close down as the fire extinguishing squad intensified its operation.

With over 12 fire brigade vehicles put on task, latest reports stated that the fire has still not come under control.

Further reports are awaited.

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Update at 7.30pm, IST: Mangalore: Joint Efforts by Firemen, Police and Public Help Extinguish Fire - An Update