Kendrapara, Dec 27: A vegetable shopkeeper was killed in a fire that broke out late Friday night at Baruni Market under Kudanagari police station limits in Kendrapara district.

The deceased has been identified as Subash Chandra Mallik of Gobindapur village, who ran a vegetable shop at the market. According to sources, Mallik was sleeping inside the shop when the fire suddenly erupted during the night. He was unable to escape and died in the incident.

The exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. Following the incident, tension prevailed in the area. Police reached the spot soon after receiving information and have launched an investigation to determine the circumstances leading to the fire.

In a similar incident reported in November, a massive fire broke out at Tinikonia Market in the Sahid Nagar area of Bhubaneswar, destroying several shops and claiming the life of an elderly shopkeeper. The deceased, identified as Kulamani Sahu, an egg trader, reportedly used to light egg cartons to ward off mosquitoes while sleeping inside his shop. The fire is believed to have originated from the burning cartons and spread rapidly. Firefighters later doused the flames, but Sahu was found dead inside the shop. Police sent the body to Capital Hospital for post-mortem and initiated an investigation.