As many as 18 persons, including a woman, died at the Suriya Sen Vegetable market fire accident that took on the wee-hours of Wednesday.
The cause of the fire was not known yet, but fire brigades who came in 26 vans rushed to the fire-accident-spot and battled for more than three hours to extinguish the fire.
A shop in the market caught fire and this had spread throughout the locality, said an eye-witness. It is feared that the fire had destroyed goods worth several crores of rupees.
The fire brigades saved the lives of 15 persons. Around six persons who were in unconscious stage were rescued and others with severe burn injuries were rushed to nearby hospitals, said a source.