A beach resort and four other commercial establishments were destroyed in a major fire that broke out at Thiruvambady in Varkala in the early hours of Wednesday.

The fire, suspected to have been caused by a short-circuit, began at a restaurant and spread to three shops and the resort nearby around 2.30 a.m.

Run to safety

There were no casualties. Those inside the resort and the restaurant ran to safety on being alerted. Six fire tenders from Varkala, Attingal and Paravoor fire stations doused the fire within two hours. The Varkala police have registered a case.