Shillong, Oct 14: The major fire in Police Bazar, which started at around 1.20 PM on Saturday afternoon, continues to rage on even after 8 hours. One person has died due to the suffocation and one person still remains missing.

The deceased person has been identified as Sampat Singh Jangir, a manager of the Bhajanlals. He got trapped inside the godown of the building when he went in along with a porter for picking up materials for delivery and fire broke out.

“One person has died due to suffocation,” East Khasi Hills district police chief Sylvester Nongtnger said over phone.

Read: Massive fire breaks out in Police Bazar near Congress Bhawan

A police officer on duty informed that the person was taken out of the godown through a small window but he passed away due to suffocation. It was a big challenge for the fire tenders to reach the location due to the narrow alleys and congested surroundings.

The building is adjacent to the Congress Bhawan and Payal Cinema on the Thana Road in Police Bazar. It is owned by Govind Singhania, Murli Singhania, and Nilesh Singhania.

Earlier, there were conflicting reports that the Payal Cinema had been gutted in the fire. However, more details later have confirmed that it was not Payal Cinema but the building next to it – Janata Furniture building.

Firefighters, who arrived at the scene swiftly, have been trying to bring the fire under control for several hours, but their efforts have had partial success. By 8:00 pm, firefighters had managed to control the fire from the front portion of the building, but the fire continued to rage from the rear portion.

Indian Air Force, Army, Assam Rifles, SDRF, Meghalaya Police and Fire Services along with district officials are at the scene. Chemical contraption from Air Force are being used now to decimate the unreachable portion of the godowns.

Officials said it will take another 2-3 hours to completely douse the fire.

Also read: Assam: Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival invites entries from across India

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