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INDIA-FIRE-SCHOOL
Indian police charge owners as school fire toll hits 20
SURAT, India, May 25, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Indian police on Saturday charged
the owners of a private school which turned into an inferno that killed 20
teenagers, some who died jumping from the building in a desperate bid to
escape the flames, officials said.
Sixteen of the dead were young women who had been preparing for exams at
the tuition centre illegally set up on the top of a commercial building in
the western city of Surat, the officials said.
Horrifying images of students leaping from upper floors of the building on
Friday afternoon have spread on social media.
A youth died in hospital on Saturday, increasing the toll, as an inquiry
revealed that the victims were studying in a plastic dome that was quickly
engulfed by flames.
The victims were aged between 15 and 22, police said. More than 50 students
were in classes when the fire erupted.
Government officials said five of the dead had been due to receive exam
results determining their university entrance on Saturday. All had passed
with flying colours, one official told AFP.
Police have charged three owners of the tuition centre at the Takshashila
Arcade with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and attempted culpable
homicide.
– Shock and grief –
Surat police commissioner Satish Sharma told reporters that one of the
accused, Bhargav Bhutani, had been detained. Media reports said the other two
were on-the-run.
Sharma appealed for calm after some groups called for public protests while
there were angry skirmishes on Friday night at the hospital where the injured
were taken.
But 22-year-old Ketan Chodvadiya has been hailed as a hero of the tragedy
after he was shown in videos climbing the side of the flaming building to try
to save some of the teenagers.
“I climbed to the spot where I was seen in the video with the help of a
ladder,” he told the Indian Express newspaper.
“One student fell down and I couldn’t catch her. I could see her lying dead
and I can’t forget the sight and I will always regret that I couldn’t save
her, but I am happy I could help around eight to ten students escape,” he
added.
Widespread safety breaches were found at the centre, officials said.
“The fire was caused by a short-circuit in one of the air-conditioning
ducts on the ground floor … and spread to the third floor,” said Surat’s
fire and emergency services commissioner U. Upadhyay.
The Takshashila Arcade had permission for just one floor but two additional
storeys were illegally constructed, according to a chief fire official Basant
Parekh.
“The coaching class owners had illegally occupied the terrace and had put
up a makeshift dome,” he added.
Surat city has set up a team to identify other illegal structures being
used for tuition classes in exam season.
Images showing flames and black smoke billowing out of the building and
students jumping from the upper floors have been widely share.
Widespread public grief and anger has been expressed at the disaster.
Bollywood superstar actor Amitabh Bachchan said on Twitter that he felt
“grief beyond expression”.
R. Madhavan another leading actor and producer, said on Twitter: “Those
breaking the norms should be EXECUTED.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who comes from Gujarat state, also expressed
condolences.
BSS/AFP/ARS/1720 hrs