Nearly 250 patients were moved to safety from the Kolkata Medical College and Hospital in central Kolkata Wednesday morning after a fire broke out in one of the buildings.

Ten fire engines are at the spot to control the smoke. There are no reports of any casualties.

The fire started the pharmacy of the hospital. The fire department was alerted after smoke was spotted from the building that houses the pharmacy at around 8 am. "The fire began in the ground floor of the medical college at around 7.58 a.m. The reason behind the blaze is yet to be ascertained," a fire brigade official was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Though no flames were seen, black smoke billowed from the building.

Apart from the firefighters and the police, West Bengal's disaster management authority officials have also reached the medical college.

Ten fire engines were sent to Kolkata Medical College and Hospital after a fire broke out. Kolkata Medical College, on College Street, has several buildings in the complex. There was chaos and panic after the fire broke out. Many patients had to be taken out of the building in stretchers and even bed sheets with their saline drips. Some of the patients were seen lying on the floor.

Some of the patients were moved out of the hospital in ambulances.

Kolkata Medical College is one of the oldest hospitals in the subcontinent.