14 dead in massive fire at muti-storey building in Jharkhand's Dhanbad, many injured

Many people got trapped in the building, according to reports.

The exact number of people who died or suffered injuries is yet to be ascertained.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives in the fire.

The blaze broke out late in the evening at Ashirwad Tower, a 13-storied building in Joraphatak, which is a busy area in the city that's around 160 km away from the state capital Ranchi.

Dhanbad Deputy Commissioner Sandeep Kumar said eight or 10 people have already been rescued. They have sustained serious burns, he said.

"The injured are being sent to the Medical College. The rescue work is over. But we have not taken a proper headcount yet. This will be done jointly by the police and the fire department personnel," he added.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has expressed his grief over the fire incident which took place in a high rise tower in Dhanbad.

The Chief Minister took to twitter to share his shock and sorrow over the fire incident which broke out in Aashirwad Tower located in Joda Phatak of Dhanbad.

He said that the district administration was conducting rescue operations on a war footing and the wounded are being provided necessary treatment. He himself is monitoring the entire situation the Chief Minister said.

Officials have so far placed the casualties between 12-14 which also includes women and children. The numbers are likely to go up as several others are critical and undergoing treatment at the hospital.

The dead bodies have been brought to Shaheed Nirmal Mahto Medical College Hospital for postmortem.

It is being suspected that the fire took place in the third floor of the building following a cylinder blast.

[With UNI inputs]