Blaze at Bank Of India building in Mumbai, no casualties (Lead)

Mumbai, April 21:  A major fire broke out on the fourth floor of the five-storey Bank of India's corporate office building here on Friday but has been controlled, officials said. There were no reports of any casualties so far.

Thick clouds of smoke could be seen billowing out of the top floors of the heritage building, located close to the Bombay High Court and the Flora Fountain-Hutatma Chowk memorial in the oldest central business district in south Mumbai.

At least four fire tenders, three water tankers and ambulances were rushed to the spot to fight the blaze even as the building with around 400 staffers was quickly evacuated.

Some buildings in the immediate vicinity were also evacuated as a precautionary measure.

The blaze, which was reported around 4.40 p.m., was brought under control at 7 p.m. and now cooling operations are underway even as the cause of the fire is being investigated, said an official of BMC's Disaster Control.

The head office of the Mumbai-based, 110-year-old bank, which was nationalised in 1969, is in the Bandra Kurla Complex.