Rajkot Fire Tragedy: CCTV Footage Shows Beginning Of Blaze That Killed 27 At Gaming Zone

An investigation has revealed the game zone had rubber and resin flooring, polystyrene sheet partitions, and over a thousand tyres around the car zone, creating a highly flammable environment.

CCTV footage from TRP Gaming Zone in Rajkot, Gujarat, where a fire killed 27 people on Saturday, appears to show the beginning of the deadly blaze. The video shows workers trying to remove some flammable material as the fire erupts. The people killed in the fire ay the gaming arcade, located in a residential area and allegedly operating without a fire clearace, include 9 children. 

In the CCTV footage shared by PTI, people can be seen running towards a blaze at the top of a stack of some materials — seemingly wood or polystyrene (thermocol) sheets — to try and snuff out the fire. View from another camera shows workers removing a few things surrounding the fire. 

While it is suspected that the fire started due to a short circuit, the exact cause is yet to be ascertained. 

According to an IANS report, an investigation has revealed that the incident happened due to the arcade management's negligence, and that the arcade was made up of a flimsy-shed-like structure. The game zone also had rubber and resin flooring, polystyrene sheet partitions, and over a thousand tyres around the car zone, creating a highly flammable environment.

The game zone had fire safety equipment but action taken to control the fire was not sufficient, leading to the tragedy on Saturday, a senior police officer said on Sunday, according to a PTI report. 

The Gujarat High Court on Sunday took suo motu cognisance of the tragedy, terming it prima facie a "man-made disaster". The bench noted that a stock of highly flammable materials such as petrol, fibres and fibreglass sheets were stored at the facility.

Police have registered an FIR against six partners who own the gaming arcade, on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, PTI reported. Two persons have been arrested. Rajkot Police Commissioner Raj Bhargava was quoted in the PTI report as telling the media that the local police had granted a booking licence (meant for premises that require customers to make bookings) to the gaming zone in November 2023. The licence was renewed for the period from January 1 to December 31, 2024.