Three teenage girls died and 40 people were injured after a fire broke out at a spiritual discourse event in Pransala village near Rajkot on Friday night.
The fire that was reportedly caused by a short circuit devoured around 60 tents within no time. The condition of two of the injured are said to be critical.
The incident happened at Rashtra Katha Shibir by Swami Dharmabandhu at his ashram in Pransala near Upleta town of Rajkot.
According to Rajkot district collector, Vikrant Pandey, as many as 10,000 participants were staying in around 300 tents erected at an open ground here. Friday was the last day of the nine-day shibir and participants were to leave on Saturday morning. "The short circuit happened when one of the participants tried to plug in a mobile charger. Two of the deceased have been identified as Vanita Jamod (16) from Sayla town of Surendranagar and Kinjal Shiyal from Ambardi village of Rajkot. The identity of the third girl has yet to be ascertained," said Pandey.
As a special session on self-defence and patriotism was held the same day, several Army jawans and Navy and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel were present at the camp. They started rescue operation as soon as the fire broke out and until the fire brigade arrived and took control of the situation. It took them two hours to douse the flames.
Pandey said, "The fire broke out at a tent where women participants were staying. The closely erected tents were made of fabric, which resulted in the fire spreading rapidly. The injured have been shifted to Upleta and Porbandar government hospitals."
District superintendent of police Antrip Sood said, "Though the prima facie evidence has suggested short circuit as the cause of fire, we have investigating further."
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani condoled the incident and announced an ex gratia compensation of Rs 4 lakh to families of the deceased.
Where and When
- Fire broke out at a spiritual discourse event in Pransala village near Rajkot on Friday night.
- Reportedly caused by a short circuit, the fire devoured around 60 tents within no time.
- As many as 10,000 participants were staying in around 300 tents erected at an open ground at the venue.
