CHENNAI: A major fire broke out in a cable godown near the Perambur Railway Hospital in the early hours of Thursday.

The godown belongs to the Signal and Telecom (S&T) department of the Southern Railway (SR).

No persons were injured in the fire accident. However, electrical equipment and cables worth a few lakhs are believed to have been destroyed.

Three fire brigade units have been deployed to tackle the blaze. SR headquarters officials said that the fire has been brought under control but it is yet to be doused completely.

Highly placed railway officials told DT Next that the fire had broken out sometime in the night and was brought to their notice by residents of the adjoining railway staff quarters.

“The godown has minimum employee presence. It is only a storage facility of the headquarters. The staff visit the godown to only store and pick up electrical supplies. Besides cables, it also stores signalling equipment. Since the fire ocurred in the night, no person was injured in the fire accident,” said a senior SR officer.

Meanwhile, senior officials from the zonal railway headquarters including the Chief Signal and Telecom Engineer arrived at the spot and commenced their inquiries.

The cause of the fire is being investigated.

An official statement from the official SR spokesperson is expected soon.