A man looks down from one of the top storeys of an office building in Bangalore, India, on Tuesday, as smoke billows out of the window in this video image from India's TV 9.A man looks down from one of the top storeys of an office building in Bangalore, India, on Tuesday, as smoke billows out of the window in this video image from India's TV 9. (TV 9/Reuters)

Nine people have died and more than 40 were injured when a major fire broke out in an office building in the southern Indian city of Bangalore on Tuesday.

Police said most of the victims had broken windows and jumped from the upper floors of the seven-storey Carlton Towers, which houses offices and shops.

Most of the injured were being treated for smoke inhalation.

Rescue teams moved more than 150 people safely out of the building and took two hours to contain the blaze. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The fire occurred in one of the busiest areas of the city during the peak hours for traffic, circumstances that delayed the arrival of fire trucks to the scene.