News Analysis India

Tag: Gujarat fire

  • Massive Fire Engulfs Rajkot Gaming Zone In Gujarat, 20 Dead |

    New Delhi: A massive fire engulfed a gaming zone in Gujarat’s Rajkot on Saturday evening and at least 20 people have died in the incident. Efforts to douse the fire are underway.

    Speaking to media Rajkot Police Commissioner Raju Bhargav said,  “A fire broke out at the TRP gaming zone and there is information of some casualties.”

    “We will then be able to find out the exact number of casualties inside the zone (after fire is controlled). We will also investigate the cause of the fire, and a message has been issued to all the gaming zones in the city to shut down,” he added.  

    “The rescue operations are on. The fire is under control. We are trying to retrieve as many bodies as possible. As of now, around 20 bodies have been recovered and they have been sent to the hospital for further investigation. Investigations will be carried out,” added Bhargava.

    The commissioner said that the police will be registering an offence for negligence against the gaming zome owner and a probe will be launched once the rescue operation is concluded.

    “The gaming zone is owned by a person called Yuvraj Singh Solanki. We will be registering an offence for negligence and the deaths which have occurred. The further investigation will take place once we complete the rescue operations here,” said Bhargava.

    #WATCH | Rajkot, Gujarat: Fire officer IV Kher says, “The reason for the fire is yet to be ascertained. The attempts to douse the fire are underway. We have not received any message of missing persons. We are facing difficulty in the firefighting operation because the temporary… https://t.co/Gd9N1Pd8ka pic.twitter.com/v09kJcL0V3
    — ANI (@ANI) May 25, 2024

    Speaking to news agency ANI Fire Officer IV Kher said that the reason for the fire was yet to be ascertained. “The attempts to douse the fire are underway. We have not received any message of missing persons. We are facing difficulty in the firefighting operation because the temporary structure has collapsed and due to wind velocity,” he said.

    Meanwhile, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel took on ‘X’ to respond to the incident and wrote, “Instructions have been given to the Municipal Corporation and the administration for immediate rescue and relief operations in the fire incident in the game zone in Rajkot. It has also been instructed to prioritize arrangements for immediate treatment of the injured.”

    (This is a developing story.)

  • Gujarat: Four minors among nine killed in explosion caused by LPG cylinder leakage

    By PTI
    AHMEDABAD: Four children and five others have succumbed to severe burn injuries they had suffered in an explosion and fire that was triggered by leakage of gas from an LPG cylinder in a room on the outskirts of Gujarat’s Ahmedabad city, a police official said on Saturday.

    The incident had occurred on the night of July 20.

    While eight victims – labourers and their family members – died in the last couple of days during treatment, another one succumbed on Saturday.

    All of them were from Madhya Pradesh, he said.

    “Leakage of gas from an LPG cylinder had triggered explosion and fire, in which 10 persons, including children and women, had suffered severe burn injuries.

    The incident has claimed the lives of nine of them so far.

    They were undergoing treatment at the civil hospital,” inspector P R Jadeja of Aslali police station said.

    Three persons died during treatment on Thursday, five others succumbed on Friday and one more on Saturday morning, he said.

    The labourers and their family members were sleeping in the small room when the gas from their cylinder started leaking.

    When their neighbour knocked on their door to alert them about it, one of the labourers got up and switched on the light, which triggered a spark and led to the explosion due to concentration of gas, another police official said.

    The 10 injured persons included the neighbour who had come to alert them, and all of them were rushed to the civil hospital for treatment, he said.

    The deceased have been identified as Rampyari Ahirwar (56), Rajubhai Ahirwar (31), Sonu Ahirwar (21), Seema Ahirwar (25), Sarju Ahirwar (22), Vaishali (7), Nitesh (6), Payal (4), and Akash (2), all natives of Guna district in Madhya Pradesh, the inspector added.

    “One injured person,identified as Kulsinh Bhairwa (30), is undergoing treatment and his condition is said to be critical,” Jadeja said, adding that he hails from Kudgaon in Karauli in Rajasthan, he said.

    Jadeja said that the bodies of the deceased were being sent to their native village in Madhya Pradesh.

  • Gujarat: Seven from MP dead in fire, explosion caused by LPG cylinder leakage

    By PTI
    AHMEDABAD: Seven persons have succumbed to the burn injuries after leakage of gas from an LPG cylinder triggered fire and explosion inside a room on the outskirts of Gujarat’s Ahmedabad city, police have said.

    The incident took place on Tuesday night (July 20), but the victims – labourers and their family members – died over the last couple of days during treatment, said S S Gameti, sub-inspector of Aslali police station in Ahmedabad rural on Friday.

    Besides men, the deceased included children and women, he added.

    “Some labourers working in a factory and their family members were sleeping in a small room when gas from their LPG cylinder started leaking on the night of July 20.

    When their neighbour knocked on their door to alert them, a labourer got up and switched on the light, which caused an explosion due to concentration of gas,” Gameti said.

    “Ten persons were sleeping there at that time and all of them received severe burn injuries as fire engulfed the room. While three persons died during their treatment on Thursday, four others succumbed to the injuries at a hospital on Friday,” he said.

    Three persons are undergoing treatment, the official added.

    Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced a financial assistance of Rs four lakh each to the next kin of the victim.

    The deceased persons belonged to Madhusudangarh in Guna district of Madhya Pradesh, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said in a statement.

    According Gujarat police, these deceased included male labourers and their family members, including children.

    “Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has expressed deep condolences on the death of seven workers of Madhusudangarh (MP’s Guna district) due to gas leak in Ahmedabad. Chouhan has directed a financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 2 lakh to the injured besides free treatment to them,” the CMO said.

    Madhya Pradesh Governor Mangubhai C Patel also expressed grief over the death of workers.

    Praying for the departed souls and for strength to the bereaved families, Patel wished a speedy recovery to the injured, the governor’s office said.

    The incident had taken place on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on Tuesday night (July 20), but the victims died over the last couple of days during treatment, Gujarat police have said.

  • Gujarat: Two dead, five missing after blast, fire at factory in Bharuch

    By PTI
    BHARUCH: Two workers died, 23 were injured and five were still missing after a massive fire erupted following an explosion at a chemical factory in the Bharuch district of Gujarat on early Tuesday morning, police said.

    The incident took place at United Phosphorus Limited’s plant in Jhagadia GIDC industrial area, said inspector P H Vasava of the local police station.

    The fire started after a blast around 2 am, he said.

    While local sources said it was a boiler blast, the police official did not specify and said probe was on.

    The factory made chemicals used in the pharmaceutical industry, sources said.

    “Two bodies have been found so far from the debris inside the factory. Search is underway for five workers who are still missing,” inspector Vasava said.

    As many as 23 other workers were injured in the fire and nine of them were hospitalized, he said.

    The blast was so powerful that it was heard a long distance away, the inspector said.

    Around 15 fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the fire was brought under control by 6.30 am, he added.

    The state’s Labour and Employment Department issued orders to close the unit and said it will review its safety aspects.

    It also ordered the factory owners to pay ex-gratia compensation to the deceased workers’ families, it said in a release.