Bodies of two firemen found as efforts to battle Chandigarh blaze go on

Chandigarh: The Bodies of two fireman were retrieved from the debris of a collapsed four-storey building in the wee hours, even as firefighting following a major fire which broke out in the Sector 17 area of the city, last night.

The bodies of firemen Amandeep Singh and Ravinder Kumar were retrieved from the debris, Chief Fire Officer S K Bhatia said.

He said that fire fighting was still continuing.

Meanwhile, four other firemen have been hospitalised after sustaining injuries, he said, adding that the condition of these personnel was currently stable.

A multi-storeyed building of the National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology in Sector 17, also known as the Regional Computer Centre (RCC), caught fire after multiple blasts took place inside the AC plant located inside the basement.

Over 25 fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames, fire brigade officials said, adding that the building had been completely destroyed in the incident.

Flames are still erupting from the debris of the building, Bhatia said.

He, however, ruled out the possibility of any other firemen being trapped under the debris.

The flames have also damaged some adjacent buildings, officials said.

PTI