20 lives lost as coaching centre goes up in flames
At least 20 students were killed Friday after a massive fire engulfed a three-storey commercial complex in Surat. Some of the students, the youngest aged 4 and the oldest 21, died when they jumped off the building while most could not escape and were killed by the fire. The fire broke out around 5 pm on the roof of the Takshashila complex, which had covered the terrace to run summer classes for students along with other coaching centres. This space, run by various operators, had a fashion designing class, a class for mental mathematics and a gymnasium among others. Once the fire started, it quickly enveloped a wooden stairway — the only access to the summer classes on the terrace forcing students to plunge out of windows and the roof. The Surat police filed an FIR against three persons, including the builders of the complex and the owner of the coaching classes where the fire broke out, on charges of culpable homicide. The accused have been identified as Bhargav Bhutani — the owner of the coaching centre and Harsukh Vekaria and Jignesh Paghdal, the builders.
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