At least 27 people killed in huge fire at amusement park in India

At least 27 people, most of them children, have died after a huge fire broke out at an amusement park in western India, police said.

The fire erupted at the park in the city of Rajkot in Gujarat state on Saturday. Police commissioner Raju Bhargava said the fire was under control and the rescue operation was under way.

More than 300 people were in a two-storey structure at the park when the blaze broke out as it was a summer holiday weekend, Rajkot fire officer Ilesh Kher told reporters.

Prabhav Joshi, the district collector of Rajkot, said: “People got trapped as a temporary structure at the facility collapsed near the entrance, making it difficult for the people to come out.”

Footage showed firefighters clearing debris around collapsed tin roof structures that media reports said were used for bowling, go-karting and trampoline attractions.

Bhargava said the police would file a case of negligence against the amusement park’s owner, Yuvraj Singh Solanki.

“We will be registering an offence for negligence and the deaths which have occurred. Further investigation will take place once we complete the rescue operation,” he said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The prime minister, Narendra Modi, wrote on X that he was “extremely distressed by the fire. My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones. Prayers for the injured.”

It took nearly an hour to douse the fire, with about a dozen ambulances carrying the injured to hospital.

Fire department officials said a short-circuit was suspected as the cause and police at the site said the bodies of the dead were heavily burned, making identification difficult.

Fires are common in India due to poor building practices, overcrowding and a lack of adherence to safety regulations.

In February, 11 people were killed in a fire that ripped through a paint factory in the capital New Delhi.

In 2022, at least 27 people died and dozens more were injured after a huge fire broke out at a four-storey commercial building in the city.

In 2016, more than 100 people were killed after a large explosion during a banned fireworks display in the southern state of Kerala.