NEW DELHI, Aug. 18 -- A major fire broke out on the second floor of an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) building that houses the teaching block here on Saturday evening. Though no casualty was reported, officials said the blaze destroyed samples and medical reports.

Authorities at AIIMS closed the adjacent emergency department as a precautionary measure. Patients from some floors of the AB ward, close to the Microbiology department where the blaze started around 4.50 pm, were evacuated along with those in operation theatres above it as the smoke spread, they said, adding the fire was doused within two hours.

The Microbiology department's virology unit has been completely gutted, sources said.

Former Finance Minister Arun...