Srinagar:
A massive fire broke out in the civil secretariat complex in Jammu and Kashmir's summer capital Srinagar this morning, possibly destroying records kept in the headquarters of the state government.
It took nearly 2 hours to control the fire that broke out at around 9 am in a two-storey wooden annexe next to the main secretariat, housing offices of the Higher Education Department, Planning Department and the Director of Treasury and Accounts among others.
Officials say records in the building may have been completely destroyed.
"We have had a fire in the annexe of the secretariat housing the offices of technical education, higher education, forest, accounts and treasuries," tweeted J&K Chief minister Omar Abdullah, whose office is in the main secretariat building.
Thousands of office workers and worried residents crowded the site, causing chaos and confusion as firemen tried to contain the blaze and stop it from spreading to the main secretariat and residential area.
Questions are being raised on the safety of the largely wooden structure, which had rooms full of crucial records of many departments.