Noida, March 13 -- At least 35 night-shift workers were injured, with a 30-year-old man in critical condition, after they jumped from higher floors of a three-storey electric metres manufacturing unit in Noida Sector 4 after a fire erupted on Thursday and was still burning hours later. The fire is suspected to have started around 5 am in the basement, where plastic material and electric metres were being stored, according to officials and workers. At least 250 people were in the building at the time. "As locals alerted emergency services, firefighters and a police team rushed to the spot," said Rajiv Narayan Mishra, additional commissioner of police, GB Nagar (law and order). While an investigation into the cause of the fire is still on, Pradeep Kumar Chaubey, the chief fire officer (Gautam Budh Nagar), said, "Prima facie it is suspected that the fire broke out due to short-circuit." At least 36 fire tenders were involved in the firefight and was still being doused as this newspaper was going to print. Harpal Singh, manager at the Capital Power Systems, said he received information about the fire around 7am. "It has yet to be ascertained how the fire started. A fire safety system was installed, but they did not get a chance to use it," he said. Most of the victims were injured from jumping off the higher floors as thick smoke made it difficult to use the exits. A police officer who was part of the rescue operation said, "People who were working on the first floor managed to escape. However, some of those working on the upper two floors were trapped, and due to the lack of a clear exit they were forced to jump or escape in whatever way they could find." A doctor at the Sector 39 hospital where the victims were being treated told HT, "Sambhu Kumar, 30, a resident of Harola, with a severe head injury was referred to Delhi's Safdarjung hospital. Most of the people undergoing treatment suffered leg fractures. However, a few of them were later discharged." Officials said they were checking if the firefighting system in the factory was in working condition or whether a technician had been hired to operate it. "No case has been registered yet," said CP Mishra....