Mangaluru (Karnataka),  The presence of mind of the teachers helped avert a major tragedy on Monday after a fire broke out due to a short-circuit at the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examination centre at Ullal in the city, a fire department official said.

The fire department official told reporters that a fire broke out in a biology lab of a college in Babbukatte, Mangaluru, due to a short-circuit. "Within half an hour, thick smoke engulfed the examination room which was adjacent to the laboratory," the official said.

The incident took place during the Class X exams of Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board which began on Monday amid pandemic fears, the fire department said.

The official said that the fire broke out while the SSLC exam was going on and all the 208 students who were appearing for the test were shifted to a nearby building.

"So far, there are no reports of injuries to any student or faculty member of the school. This was possible due to the presence of mind of the teachers who did not create a situation of panic while moving the students out of the building," the fire department said.

The two-day SSLC exams began across the state on Monday with as many as 8.76 lakh registered students.

Owing to Covid concerns, the KSEEB this year has increased the number of examination centres and teachers on duty, with as many as 1.19 lakh staff being deployed for 73,064 exam halls in 4,885 centres across the state.