A fire broke out at a prominent cinema theatre in Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday morning. According to the police, the fire broke out at Sree Padmanabha theatre around 7.30 am.

While the exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, the police believe that the flames could have been generated out of a short circuit from the air conditioning (AC) system.

"It started at 7.15. The fire was caused by short circuit. Five units of fire force rushed to the spot. It took us hours to bring it under control. It began near the projector room and spread to the balcony," Fire Force Station Officer Suresh Kumar told TNM.

At the time of the incident, three staff members of the theatre were in the compound.

"No staff was inside. Though three staff were in the compound, they were sleeping in the ground floor. So they escaped without any injury," Suresh Kumar said.

The incident came to light when shopkeepers near the theatre noticed smoke emanating from the building. Reports say that the entire balcony of the theatre was gutted in the fire and a majority of the seats have been destroyed.

Although media reports claimed that the fire has caused a loss of at least Rs 1 crore, the fire force official said that the quantum of loss is yet to be determined. Reports also state that the theatre was recently renovated.

(This is a developing story)