Retail liqour outlet gutted in fire

A retail liquor outlet of a state-owned corporation was gutted in a fire Friday near here in Ernakulam district, officials said. No casualty was reported, they said.

The entire stock of around 1,700 cases of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) was destroyed in the fire, which was put out in a two-hour-long operation, the officials said. Four fire tenders were pressed into service to fight the fire that broke around 9 a.m at the outlet of Kerala State Beverages Corporation Limited near North Paravur.

The cause of the fire was being investigated, the officials said.