A massive fire broke out in Kolar, Karnataka, at a chemical factory on Thursday morning. Initial reports suggest that all 50 employees, who were inside the unit, were rushed to safety and no loss of life was reported.

It is suspected that a short circuit might have triggered the fire.

"The fire spread to the pipes where the petroleum products were being transported. Soon, it reached the neighbouring Sri Rama Plywood and Sainatha Steel factories. About 10 fire tenders were rushed to the spot and 50-60 firefighters have been deployed,"the Malur police said.

Thick columns of smoke were seen billowing out of the factory.

Local reports suggest that an explosion was observed at Banashankari Chemicals in Malur area on Thursday morning. The first responder reached the spot at 10.35 am.

The Kolar SP Lokesh Kumar told TNM that 10 teams of fire personnel were sent to the spot and confirmed that no loss of life has been reported.

The police added that the cause of fire can only be determined after a Forensic Science Laboratory report.

(This is a developing story.)