A devastating fire broke out at SOHUM Emporia late Tuesday night in Guwahati, causing severe destruction across the entire multi-storey commercial complex. The blaze reportedly started around midnight and spread rapidly, engulfing all six floors within minutes and creating an extremely critical situation.
The blaze reportedly began around 1 AM on Wednesday, December 10, and by 9:30 AM, smoke was still rising from the building.
Located in the city’s busy ABC locality, SOHUM Emporia houses several branches of the State Bank of India (SBI), all of which sustained major damage. Early assessments suggest that cash, important documents, and property worth several crores may have been destroyed. Firefighters struggled to contain the flames as nothing inside the building could be salvaged in time.
Nearly six fire tenders were pressed into service, and it took firefighters close to five to six hours to bring the flames under control.
The fire remained uncontrolled at the time of filing this report.
Authorities have yet to determine the cause of the fire. No casualties have been reported so far. Authorities will conduct a detailed assessment of the damage and investigate the cause once the area is fully secured.