22 June 2012 Last updated at 05:04 ET

Maharashtra cabinet meets after Mumbai fire

Three floors of the building were gutted in the fire

The Maharashtra cabinet has held a crisis meeting a day after a massive fire gutted several floors of the state government headquarters in the Indian city of Mumbai.

The fire was put out on Friday morning, but officials said it would take two more days to cool the building.

Three floors of Mantralaya (the state Secretariat building) were gutted and at least five people died.

The state government has ordered an inquiry into the fire.

"Ministers will work from the legislative assembly offices, we will ensure that work is not affected," Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan told reporters after the meeting.

Mr Chavan said a structural audit of the Mantralaya was being carried out and access would be restricted to the building until it was declared safe.

The chief minister said it was unlikely that any important files were lost, as the government had scanned copies of most of the documents in addition to back-up.

Earlier reports said files pertaining to the Adarsh housing scam, which involves several top politicians, bureaucrats and former army officials, were destroyed in the fire.

More than 20 fire engines fought the blaze in the seven-storey building for more than 12 hours before they were able to fully extinguish it.

It is not clear what caused the blaze. Some accounts have blamed an electrical short-circuit.

More than 6,000 people work in the high-security complex.