A fitness centre late Sunday night was reduced to ashes after a massive fire broke out at the gym in Jagamara area of Khandagiri in Bhubaneswar.
On being informed, fire tenders rushed to the spot and with help of locals, the blaze was put out after nearly 45 minutes of firefighting.
Property worth several lakhs in the two-storied building housing the gym is believed to have been gutted in the inferno.
Fortunately, the owner of the gym, Bijan Barik along with some of his employees who were trapped inside the fitness centre due to blinding smoke during the outbreak of the fire at around 10 pm on Sunday were safely evacuated by the firefighters.
The exact reason of the fire breakout was not known immediately. However, it is suspected that the blaze might have occurred due to a short circuit during the maintenance work as the gym was closed on Sunday.