Thirty-three persons, including nine children, were killed in a fire at a gaming zone in Gujarat’s Rajkot on Saturday, The Hindu reported.
While locals said that the blaze spread quickly following a short circuit in the air conditioner, police officials told The New Indian Express that it was not clear what caused the fire.
The manager and the owner of the children’s game zone were among three persons detained and taken to police station for questioning, The Hindu reported.
The fire at the game zone, built in a temporary structure at Nana-Mava Road, broke out at 4.30 pm, The New Indian Express quoted officials as saying.
“The temporary structure in the gaming zone had collapsed,” The New Indian Express quoted Rajkot District Collector Prabhav Joshi as saying on Saturday night. “The fire was brought under control about two hours ago. We will establish a high-level inquiry committee to investigate the incident. Debris removal is ongoing.”
The toll is likely to rise once the debris is cleared, The Hindu reported.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said that a special investigation team had been set up to probe the incident.
“It is very important to ensure that such an incident does not happen again,” Patel said in a social media post on Saturday. “Any kind of negligence will not be entertained in this event.”
The special investigation team has been asked to investigate whether the game zone had necessary approvals, including a fire no-objection certificate, from the authorities, The Hindu reported.
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