Fire at engineering college in Navi Mumbai; no casualty

THANE: A fire broke out at an engineering college in Maharashtra's Navi Mumbai township, causing extensive damage to its administrative section and the principal's office, officials said on Wednesday. No casualty was reported in the incident which took place late Tuesday night at the private college located on Sion-Panvel highway in Kharghar area, they said.

The fire brigade received an alert at 11.12 pm following which its personnel rushed to the scene. "The administrative office and the principal's office have been severely damaged in the blaze," an official from the CIDCO Fire Station said. The equipment damaged in the fire included a couple of television sets, two air conditioners, as many computers and other furniture and fixtures, he said.

"The blaze was completely extinguished after a rigorous operation that lasted nearly an hour," the official said. When questioned, the security guard on duty was unable to explain the cause of the fire, he said. "We are currently investigating the cause of the blaze," the official said.