A massive fire broke out at many shops in a shoe market also known as Rani Jhansi market in central Delhi's Karol Bagh area early Sunday morning, which was doused in around five hours.

“A fire call was received from a shoe market in Gaffar, Karol Bagh, at 4.16 am and 39 fire tenders were rushed to the site,” said Atul Garg, the director, Delhi Fire Service (DFS).

“The blaze was extinguished around 9 am while the cooling operations continued. Nobody was trapped or received any injuries,” said Garg adding the cause of the fire is not known yet. The Director of DFS said none of the shops which caught fire had No Objection Certificate from the fire department.

The fire department said buildings in the shoe market usually has their shops on ground floors while the owners either store, repair or sale in their godowns which are upstairs.

Elaborating on the challenges faced by the fire-fighters during the operation, Garg said the area where the fire incident took place was a narrow congested lane.

"Lots of hanging wires were present at market area which is dangerous and causes inconvenience too. There was shortage of water resources used for dousing fire. The construction of the building is weak, so the structures have already developed cracks," he added.

A fire official present at the spot said that the fire had started in building number 2347 in street number 14.  “Later, it spread to the front of the building and then to the building at back side of the street. Around 10 shops were gutted, but the exact number will be confirmed soon,” he said.

 “Fire tenders from several stations, including Moti Nagar, Connaught Place, Naraina, Prasad Nagar, Shankar Road were rushed here to douse the blaze. We broke the shutter of couple of shops to access shops under fire. One fireman was injured in hand during the operation,” he said.

No other civilian was trapped or received any injuries, the official said, adding that the cause of the fire is yet to be known.