A deeply saddening incident took place in Surat, Gujarat, yesterday at 3.30 pm when a coaching centre located in a building called Takshashila Arcade in the Sarthana area caught fire. The premises was devoid of safety equipment and a fire escape in cases of emergency.
According to NDTV, around 50 to 60 people were trapped in the building when the fire broke out. Many students jumped off the building in a desperate attempt to escape the suffocating smoke.
#Visuals Gujarat: A fire broke out on the second floor of a building in Sarthana area of Surat; 18 fire tenders at the spot. More details awaited. pic.twitter.com/iY0O588Pom
— ANI (@ANI) May 24, 2019
News18 quoted Joint Commissioner of Police, Harikrishna Patel, saying,
“The fire started near the staircase, so they could not get down.”
An electrical short circuit is said to be the cause of the tragedy which claimed 20 lives. Most of them were teenage students. Those who suffered injuries are being given the required medical assistance. A fire department official revealed that,
“A lot of smoke accumulated on the top floor where there were AC compressors and tyres, which also caught fire. There was no escape route available for the students who got trapped on the top floors.”
One of the survivors, a Class X student named Urmi Harsukhbhai Vekari, gave a first person’s account to Hindustan Times,
“I had recently joined this drawing class, just three days ago. There were 20-30 boys and girls learning drawing from Bhargav Sir. Suddenly there was so much smoke in the room… initially we thought that somebody had burnt papers. Thereafter we came to know that fire had erupted and everybody panicked and they started jumping off.”
Heartbreaking Video
Massive Fire at ine commercial Complex , Named तक्षशिला
in surat's #sarthana Area .
Many Students were stuck.
A Brave man tried to rescue the Girls.
Pray &Hope for No big Injuries. #Surat #suratFire pic.twitter.com/h9XBWWVeui— Hitesh Pandya ▪︎ હિતેષ પંડયા (@Hiteshpandya21) May 24, 2019
Amidst the panic, one boy managed to save two trapped students from the blaze.
This boy is Ketan Jorawadia .He is the same boy who saved atleast 2 girls from falling in Surat coaching fire. He could have easily saved his life.The fire & smoke was scary instead this boy stayed at the 3rd floor & saved 2 girls from fallinf.
Salute Ketan .U redefined bravery ! pic.twitter.com/A9WdFRUQsg— Zafar Abbas (@zafarabbaszaidi) May 24, 2019
The CM Of Gujarat has announced that the families of victims will be provided Rs. 4 lakh as compensation.
Deeply saddened by the news of Surat fire tragedy. Instructed officials to do needful. My prayers are with all those affected. May those who have been injured recover at the earliest. I pray for the departed souls. Om Shanti.
— Vijay Rupani (@vijayrupanibjp) May 24, 2019
Police Commissioner Satish Sharma told The Hindu that,
“We have lodged FIR against the builder and arrested owner (Bhargav Butani) of the coaching centre.”
Police officials have shut down all classes and camps until all legal fire safety permissions are granted to them after conducting an audit.
As a precautionary step, All Coaching Class, Dance Class, Summer Camp and all such premises which houses children shall be CLOSED until further notice and Fire Safety Compliance Certificate from AMC Fire Department. @ipsvipul_ @vnehra @AmdavadAMC
— Ahmedabad Police (@AhmedabadPolice) May 24, 2019
Our thoughts and prayers are with the students who are injured and the families of the deceased.