A fire broke out at a chemical factory near Barrackpore in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district on Tuesday morning, police said.

At least 15 fire tenders have been pressed into service to douse the blaze, first spotted around 5 am, an officer said.

There were no casualties reported in the fire, which has been brought under control, he said.

The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, the officer said.

According to locals, huge plumes of smoke could be seen from a distance, and explosions were also heard at the factory.