Mumbai, June 27 A minor fire broke out Saturday in the heritage building of the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel here due to a short circuit. It was brought under control within a couple of hours and no casualties were reported, fire brigade officials said.

“We sent six fire tenders and eight water tankers to battle the blaze,” an official said.

Ajay Mishra, the hotel’s senior vice-president (sales and marketing), told reporters that the blaze occurred in the staff locker room area situated in the basement of the heritage building.

Huge clouds of smoke enveloped the building, making it practically invisible from outside.

As a precautionary measure, some of the guests in the tower building have been evacuated and shifted to sister hotels of the Taj group, Mishra said.

He added that two major functions were scheduled in the Taj Sunday, including the launch of the prestigious Jaguar-Land Rover cars in India. The official said the events would proceed as per schedule despite the fire.

The hotel was one of the main targets during last year’s 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

The heritage building, where the fire broke out, had borne the brunt of the terror attacks and large parts of it are still closed for repair and renovation.