Rajkot fire: 27 killed in game zone blaze; owner detained, SIT probe ordered

At least 27 persons, including four children under the age of 12, were killed in a massive fire that swept through a game zone teeming with people enjoying a summer vacation outing in Gujarat's Rajkot city on Saturday evening, officials said.

The death toll is likely to go up, they said.

Police have detained the owner of the TRP Game Zone and the manager while the state government assigned the probe to a Special Investigation Team.

Relief and Rescue operations have been underway at the affected game zone for more than six hours after the blaze erupted at a structure built using metal and fibre sheets for gaming activities at around 4:30 pm, officials said, adding that the structure collapsed due to the huge fire.

"So far we have confirmed the death of 27 persons in the fire incident. The bodies are charred beyond recognition and hence their identification is difficult," said Assistant Commissioner of Police Radhika Bharai.

ACP Vinayak Patel said the deceased included at least four children under the age of 12.

The death toll is likely to increase as relief operations is going on, district officials said.

According to eyewitnesses, several people, including children were playing games at the game zone, located on Nana-Mava Road, when the tragedy struck.

Police said that the owner and manager of the game zone were detained and taken to the police station for questioning.

The government has handed over the investigation of the incident to a five-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Additional Director General of Police Subhash Trivedi.

Rajkot Collector Prabhav Joshi said the Fire Control Room received a call at around 4:30 pm regarding the blaze at the game zone.

"Fire tenders and ambulances rushed to the spot to douse the flames. The fire caused the collapse of the structure, and debris is being cleared," Joshi added.

However, the exact cause of the massive fire is not known.

President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the incident.

Modi spoke to Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel to enquire about the rescue and relief efforts.

Also watch: Cyclone Remal formed over Bay of Bengal likely to make landfall on Sunday night