At least 20 people were burnt to death following a massive fire at a game zone in Gujarat's Rajkot on Saturday, according to officials. Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives and expressed his grief over the incident.
Officials informed that the fire broke out at TRP Game Zone. Rajkot Commissioner of Police, Raju Bhargava told ANI, "The fire is under control, and the rescue operations are ongoing."
"Around 20 bodies have been recovered and sent to the hospital for post-mortem examination. A probe will be taken up after the rescue and dousing operations," he added.
The Commissioner further said, "The gaming zone is owned by a person named Yuvraj Singh Solanki. We will be registering an offence for negligence and the deaths that have occurred."
"Further investigation will be taken up once we complete the rescue operations here," he mentioned.
Meanwhile, the exact cause of the fire is not yet clear. Gujarat's Chief Minister, Bhupendra Patel, instructed both the civic body and the Rajkot district administration to promptly initiate rescue and relief efforts.
"Instructions have been given to the Municipal Corporation and the administration for immediate rescue and relief operations in the fire incident in the game zone in Rajkot. It has also been instructed to prioritize arrangements for immediate treatment of the injured," Patel wrote in a post on X.
Officials informed that the structure of the commercial establishment which was temporarily constructed, came crashing down after the fire broke out, trapping several people under it.
A team of fire tenders and officials rushed to the scene after receiving information of the fire. They initiated rescue operations to save the people trapped underneath.
The structure's collapse added to the complexities of the fire department in dousing the flames. "We are facing difficulty in the firefighting operation because the temporary structure collapsed due to wind velocity," said the officer.
