India, Dec. 10 -- A massive fire broke out in a multi-storey building in Assam's Guwahati in the early hours of Wednesday, destroying property and important documents while a large cache of cash belonging to the State Bank of India (SBI) is feared to have been burnt.

The blaze, which reportedly began around 2 am at Swagota Square in the ABC area near Rajiv Bhawan, quickly engulfed all six floors of the building, according to locals.

They said the intensity of the flames and the thick black smoke billowing from the structure forced authorities to deploy an unusually large number of firefighting units, 25 engines in total, including 22 from Assam Fire & Emergency Services and three from the Narengi Refinery and the Digaru Air Force.

Fire...