Mangaluru, July 28: A massive fire swept through a shoe showroom in the heart of Mangaluru’s Hampankatta area on Tuesday morning, reducing the establishment to ashes and damaging two neighbouring shops.

The showroom, Europe Shoes, bore the brunt of the blaze, with the fire completely destroying its stock and interiors. The flames later spread to adjacent commercial establishments before firefighters managed to contain the incident.

Personnel from the Fire and Emergency Services rushed to the scene and launched an intensive operation to douse the flames, preventing the fire from spreading further to nearby buildings.

While the exact cause of the fire is yet to be officially confirmed, preliminary information points to a possible short circuit as the trigger.

No casualties or injuries were reported. However, the incident caused substantial property damage, with losses expected to run into several lakhs of rupees.