Kanpur/UNI: A massive fire broke out at the city's largest hosiery market in Kanpur's Bansmandi area on Friday morning, destroying hundreds of shops, officials said.

Hundreds of shops were gutted in the fire, police sources said. So far, a loss of crores of rupees is expected. Seeing the flames rising, passersby informed the police and fire brigade.

Dozens of vehicles from fire stations like Latush Road, Mirpur, Fazalganj and Jajmau along with Anwarganj police reached the spot and are trying to douse the fire. With the arrival of hydrole fire brigade machines from Lucknow, the army has taken the lead.

The four-storey AR Tower is located next to the Hamraj Complex in Bansmandi. Which has hundreds of readymade clothing shops. The fire broke out in the shop on the first floor of Hamraj Complex, which gradually erupted and reached the shops located on the upper floor. Seeing flames and smoke rising from the roof of the complex, passersby informed the Anwarganj police as well as the fire brigade at the control room.

As soon as the information was received, Chief Fire Officer Deepak Sharma along with Latush Road Fire Officer Kailash Chandra and Fazalganj Fire Officer Vinod Kumar Pandey reached the spot. On receiving information about the fire, Police Commissioner BP Jogdand also reached the spot along with the force.

Chief Fire Officer Deepak Sharma said that prima facie it has been reported that the fire was caused by a short circuit in the market. The cause of the accident is being investigated.