A fire broke out in the basement of Aayakar Bhavan, the Income Tax office located on Maharshi Karve Road in Mumbai, on Monday afternoon, with firefighting operations underway and no injuries reported so far.
The Mumbai Fire Brigade received the initial call at 2:01 p.m. and officially declared it a Level-I fire at 2:10 p.m.
The blaze, confined to the basement of the basement-plus-ground-plus-seven-storey structure, sent smoke through the upper floors, prompting an evacuation of people stranded there.
Multiple agencies, including the Mumbai Fire Brigade, Mumbai Police, BEST personnel, 108 ambulance services and BMC ward staff, were immediately mobilised to the site.
Specialised equipment, including a turntable ladder and an aerial ladder platform, was deployed on site to assist with aerial evacuation from the upper floors.
No casualties or injuries have been reported in the incident so far, officials said.
Firefighting operations were continuing at the time of filing this report, with further details on the cause and extent of the damage awaited.
Officials said at least four fire engines and several other firefighting vehicles were deployed as efforts continued to bring the blaze under control.
Officials have not yet confirmed the cause of the fire or the extent of damage caused to the basement area.
Aayakar Bhavan houses several offices of the Income Tax Department and typically sees heavy footfall through the day, given its administrative and public-facing functions.