India, May 22 -- A security guard and a fire brigade officer died, while three other firefighters sustained severe burn injuries in a massive blaze that erupted at the Gaondevi municipal market in Thane West in the early hours of Thursday.

The fire broke out due to a short circuit around 3.40am and spread across more than 150 shops in the market, gutting them completely, according to Yasin Tadvi, head of Thane's Regional Disaster Management Cell. The market operates on the ground floor of a two-storey building that also houses local municipal ward offices, which suffered extensive damage.

The deceased, both municipal employees, have been identified as Kalu Shankar Gadekar, 53, a security guard posted at the Naupada ward committee office...