At least 21 children dead, 16 injured in Surat fire

Surat: At least 17 children died and 16 others were injured in a major fire that broke out in a building in Sarthana area of Surat city in Gujarat.

The fire broke out in the Smart design Studio where children take drawing and art classes. It was situated on the third to top floor of a ground to 3 storied building Takshila Arcade. As there was only one entry in to the studio which was blocked due to the fire which spread quickly due to the wooden floor and wall work in it, some of the children jumped off the terrace and died.

Fire Officer Ishwar Patel said that so far 17 deaths have been confirmed. The fire call was received at around 4 pm and was controlled in around 2 hours. 15 to 16 others have been admitted to various hospitals. The drawing classes was on the third floor while a gym was on the second floor. Some charred bodies were recovered from inside. Disturbing videos of the incident showing panicked children jumping to death of the roof have emerged.

He did not rule out the possibility of increase in the number of casualties. There were no proper fire safety norms followed in the building.Meanwhile, the state government has ordered a probe in to the incident and sought a report within three days. CM Vijay Rupani has announced Rs 4 lakh ex-gratia to the family of each of the deceased family.

Minister of state for health Kumar Kanani visited the spot.PM Narendra Modi also expressed grief over the fire. 'Extremely anguished by the fire tragedy in Surat. My thoughts are with bereaved families. May the injured recover quickly. Have asked the Gujarat Government and local authorities to provide all possible assistance to those affected,' he tweeted.

The reason behind the deadly fire was not yet known. It is understood that it started due to short circuit in a sweet-meat shop in the same building.Twenty one fire fighting vehicles were deployed to douse the fire.

Two lives were lost some time ago in another fire in the city in a tuition classes.CM Rupani will visit Surat shortly to visit the spot and meet the families of the deceased and injured.(UNI)