Surat fire: 20 killed; eyewitnesses accuse fire tenders of late arrival

The fire which engulfed the four-storeyed building started at the ground floor, forcing students to take cover on the rooftop. At least 20 students were killed, either due to suffocation or falling off the windows in an attempt to escape fire.

Surat (Gujarat): At least 20 people, mostly students, were killed and several others injured as fire broke out at a multi-storey building, housing a coaching centre, in Sarthana area of Gujarat's Surat on Friday.
Eyewitnesses have accused the fire brigade of reaching the spot at least 45 minutes after the fire broke out.

The coaching centre was on the third and fourth floor of the Takshashila Complex which caught fire.

"My daughter was inside the building when the fire broke out. The fire brigade from the fire station, which is not more than 2 km away, took almost 45 minutes to come. Although my daughter survived the fire, she is still in trauma. At least 5-6 parents are still looking for their missing child," said Paresh Patel, father of a girl rescued by fire tenders.

Prateek Kansara, an eyewitness said, "at least 22-25 children were rescued via stairs, while 20 others jumped off the building. We came to know that there were 70 children inside the building when the fire broke out."

Another witness, Ajay Patel, whose office is opposite the building that caught fire, alleged that the fire brigade arrived 30-35 minutes late.

Ordering an investigation into the incident, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said, "Twenty people have lost their lives in the tragedy in spite of our rescue efforts. Students of around 20 years of age were trapped in the coaching centre when a fire broke out in the stairway."

Rupani announced an ex-gratia of four lakh to the families of the kids who died.

Horrifying visuals of the fire showed students jumping off the building to escape the inferno.

As the rescue operations were carried out, charred bodies of women and children were taken out.

The fire was reportedly triggered by a short circuit.