After nine hours, firefighters finally brought a devastating fire under control in western India. The fire broke out at a chemical factory in India's western Gujarat Province.
The fire was on the property of the Bharuch Enviro Infrastructure factory. The cause of the fire is still unknown.
Divisional Fire Officer R. M. Gamit told reporters, "The chemical waste from the factory was kept in a storage warehouse for disposal … We are still trying to ascertain the reasons behind the outbreak of the fire."
Authorities put three villages in the vicinity on high alert. Disaster management officials have also installed devices in the surrounding area to measure damage to the environment. No casualties have been reported so far.
"That fire is now under control," said District Magistrate Anita Kanwar. "We had taken precautions regarding emissions from the fire in the surrounding villages. However, we did not need to evacuate any village. We had kept medical teams there on standby and they will continue to be there to keep the locals under observation."
Fire safety laws are lax in India. Many factories in congested urban areas allegedly handle hazardous material carelessly.
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