Surat building fire leaves 18 students dead, Modi condoles
Surat, May 24 (IBNS): At least 18 students were killed in a massive fire that broke out at a coaching centre in Gujarat's Surat city on Friday.
Several videos posted on social media showed several students jumping out of windows on the top floor of the building to escape the blaze.
Most of the students are said to be between the ages of 14 and 17.
Some visuals showed people on the pavement asking the students to jump off the burning building so that they could catch them.
It is still unclear that if those who jumped off the building survived.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives in the incident.
He said he had directed the Gujarat government and local authorities to provide all possible assistance to those hit by the fire tragedy.
Reacting to the incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: "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."
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.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 24, 2019
Some injured people were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.
As many as 19 fire engines were sent to the spot. Local people also took part in the fire fighting operation.
The fire broke out at around 3:30 pm. It engulfed the top two floors of the multi-storey commercial building called Takshashila Complex in the Sarthana area of Surat, officials said.
The cause of the fire is not yet known.
Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani tweeted: "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."
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. pic.twitter.com/T4avRHOu5V
— Vijay Rupani (@vijayrupanibjp) May 24, 2019
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
