At least 27 people, most of them children, have died after a huge fire broke out at an amusement park in western India , police said.
The fire erupted at the park in the city of Rajkot in Gujarat state on Saturday. Police commissioner Raju Bhargava said the fire was under control and the rescue operation was under way.
According to the VOA, the park is usually filled with families enjoying summer vacation over the weekend.
Many of Saturday’s victims were children who had come there to have fun.
The VOA reported that firefighters could be seen in footage clearing the debris of the collapsed tin structure, which reportedly housed the bowling, go-karting, and trampoline sections in the amusement park owned by Yuvraj Singh Solanki.
More than 300 people were in a two-storey structure at the park when the blaze broke out as it was a summer holiday weekend, Rajkot fire officer Ilesh Kher told reporters.
Prabhav Joshi, the district collector of Rajkot, said: “People got trapped as a temporary structure at the facility collapsed near the entrance, making it difficult for the people to come out.”
Footage showed firefighters clearing debris around collapsed tin roof structures that media reports said were used for bowling, go-karting and trampoline attractions.
Bhargava said the police would file a case of negligence against the amusement park’s owner, Yuvraj Singh Solanki.
“We will be registering an offence for negligence and the deaths which have occurred. Further investigation will take place once we complete the rescue operation,” he said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
The prime minister, Narendra Modi, wrote on X that he was “extremely distressed by the fire. My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones. Prayers for the injured.”
It took nearly an hour to douse the fire, with about a dozen ambulances carrying the injured to hospital.
Fire department officials said a short-circuit was suspected as the cause and police at the site said the bodies of the dead were heavily burned, making identification difficult.
The death toll may rise as firefighters continue rescue efforts at the site of the blaze, the mayor of Rajkot district, Yuvraj Singh Solanki, told Reuters.
Peoplesmind
