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A firefighter and a municipal security guard were killed after a major fire swept through a market building in Thane in the early hours of Thursday, officials said.

The blaze broke out at around 3.45 am at the Gamdevi Vegetable Market on Gokhale Road in the Naupada area, according to the Thane Municipal Corporation.

Authorities said the fire spread rapidly through the market complex, which housed vegetable vendors as well as several clothing shops. As the incident occurred while most residents were asleep, the flames initially went unnoticed before thick smoke and towering flames triggered panic in the neighbourhood.

Local residents alerted the fire department after realising the scale of the blaze, prompting the deployment of six fire tenders to the site. Firefighting operations began immediately as crews attempted to contain the fire and stop it spreading to nearby buildings.

Two people lost their lives during the operation. The deceased were identified as Sagar Shinde, 43, a station officer with the Thane Fire Brigade, and Kalu Shankar Gadekar, 53, a security guard employed by the municipal corporation.

Two other fire brigade personnel sustained serious burn injuries while tackling the blaze. Officials identified them as station officer Sujit Pashte, 45, and squad leader Sameer Jadhav, 40.

Both injured men were admitted to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital for treatment, where they remain under medical care.

Emergency teams continued cooling and containment operations for several hours after the fire was brought under partial control. Authorities said efforts were ongoing to completely extinguish the flames and secure the affected area.

The exact cause of the fire has not yet been determined, and an investigation into the incident is expected to follow.

With IANS inputs