A seven-storey textile shop in Chennai collapsed on Thursday after burning for 24 hours, ANI reported. Officials said 60 fire tenders and 450 personnel were involved in the massive firefighting operation at Chennai Silks building in T-Nagar, The News Minute reported. All the seven floors of the building have collapsed, leaving only the outer shell standing. However, no casualty has been reported yet.

On Wednesday, Chennai Traffic Police had asked residents living within 100 metres of the building to leave the area while clothing, jewellery and other stores on South Usman road were shut down as part of the cordoning operations, The News Minute reported. Officials said the state government had asked experts to assess the damage to the seven-floor structure.

The congested T-Nagar, where the Chennai Silks building is located, is an area where several buildings violate construction rules despite the High Court’s intervention in the matter. “Fire safety rules not adhered to,” said MG Devasahayam, retired IAS officer and member of a High Court monitoring committee. “The fire could have been detected earlier.” The committee had found the entrances to Usman Road too narrow to allow fire department vehicles to conduct operations in the area, The Times of India had reported.

Urban Development Minister Udhumalai Radhakrishnan said buildings that violated rules in the area will be demolished, according to The News Minute.