A massive fire some 100 metres away from one of the country’s largest metro rail stations at Ameerpet in Hyderabad gutted a large two-storey shopping complex Thursday afternoon. Although no loss of life was reported, goods worth crores were damaged.

The fire gutted the KSR Shopping Complex at Maitrivanam, one of the best-known commercial landmarks in Hyderabad’s Ameerpet area. Maitrivanam is known for its dozens of garment shops, mobile phone and laptop repair stores, furniture showrooms, and data and software coaching institutes, and the KSR Complex is a prominent part of the commercial hub.

The fire broke out just 100 metres away from Ameerpet Metro Station — an interchange junction between the red and blue lines, and one of the country’s largest metro stations.

As massive flames and thick black smoke spread quickly, panic gripped the densely packed Ameerpet area. The intense flames directly touched a Hyderabad Metro Rail pillar opposite the KSR shopping complex. Fire officials have informed HMRL authorities to inspect the pillar for any damage.

Police Commissioner V C Sajjanar said the fire likely started in a helmet shop and spread to the neighbouring KSR Fashions, a large garment store stocked with piles of clothes. The flames quickly spread to other shops, triggering panic. However, alert shopkeepers from nearby stores, along with fire and police personnel, managed to evacuate everyone from the complex.

“When we doused the fire at one place, clothes in other shops caught fire again due to the heat. Water jets from the first batch of fire engines could not reach into the shops, which are narrow and long. We brought in sky lifts to finally bring the fire under control,” K Srikanth, a fire official, said.

The entire two-storey KSR Fashions showroom was gutted. The Helmet Bazaar shop, which stocked thousands of helmets, including imported and high-end models costing up to Rs 20,000, was also completely destroyed. At least 20 shops were affected, including half a dozen private travel agencies, a toy shop, paint and furniture showrooms, and small photocopy and scanning shops.

The fire caused massive traffic snarls on the Ameerpet main road, triggering gridlock in nearby areas.