New Delhi: A fire broke out at a cinema hall in Select Citywalk Mall here on Wednesday evening due to a short circuit during the screening of a movie, an official said. Panic gripped cinemagoers as a corner of the movie screen of PVR Cinemas at the mall caught fire during the 4:15 pm screening of the film 'Chhava', a witness told PTI.
Another person said as fire alarms started ringing in the hall, everybody rushed to the exit doors. The cinema hall was evacuated, he said. An officer of Delhi Fire Services said they received a call about the fire at 5.42 pm and six fire tenders were rushed to the spot. However, it was a small fire and no one was injured, he said, adding the blaze was contained by 5.55 pm.
Delhi Police said they received a call about the fire at 5.57 pm from Saket Citywalk Mall. "We got a call about the fire and the caller informed police that some people are trapped inside. Teams were immediately rushed to the spot and the flames were doused. No one was injured due to the fire," police in a statement said.
A minor short circuit at PVR Saket led to the small fire but there was no damage and the situation was quickly brought under control, it added.
A spokesperson of Select Citywalk Mall said, "We are aware of the short circuit incident which happened at the adjoining multiplex. We are assisting the multiplex team and the authorities, and extending full cooperation to them. There was no harm to any human life. Routine operations at Nexus Select Citywalk remain unaffected."
Veer Singh, who was watching the movie when the fire broke out, told PTI that he initially thought it was a scene from the movie. "When people realised that the fire broke out inside the hall and smoke was billowing, people started screaming. It was a small fire. As the fire alarm went off, cinema hall staff came in and asked everyone to leave quickly," he said.
