Fire breaks out at Maharashtra secretariat in Mumbai

Thick smoke was seen outside the windows of the fourth floor of the building and no causalities have been reported so far.

Fire has now spread to Chief Minister Prithivraj Chavan's office on the sixth floor of the building. Chavan, it was reported, was not present in his office at the time of the incident.

Sixteen fire tenders have reached the spot and efforts are on to douse the fire.

Maharashtra Chief Secretary has ordered immediate evacuation of the entire building, sources said.

Thousands of officials at Mantralaya, which houses the state Secretariat, were seen standing outside as fire fighters battled the blaze, which was suspected to have been caused by a short-circuit.

State Forest Minister Patang Rao said, "I am confident that all the important files will be safe and intact."

The eyewitnesses said that the fire broke out around 3 pm and now the area has been cordoned off.