In a major update related to the Rajkot gaming fire accident, the CCTV visuals related to the incident have emerged, which attributes the cause of the fire to welding sparks.
Further, the CCTV footage also showed the sparks falling on a nearby pile of plastic during the welding work.
As a result, it quickly caught fire, which the workers were trying to control but to no avail.
Later, another video surfaced, which showed the spread of fire in highly inflammable materials and several people trying to take those materials from the blaze.
VIDEO | CCTV footage of fire that broke out at game zone in Rajkot yesterday, leading to the death of 27 people.#Rajkotfire pic.twitter.com/bvmi1YQ36I
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 26, 2024
These videos are reportedly from the first floor of the facility, where some construction work was going on.
Where during the welding process, some sparks landed on nearby plastic, which later caught fire.
As a result, the fire spread to other stored inflammable materials, thus resulting in the largest man-made tragedy in recent times.
According to senior police officer, the game zone indeed had fire safety equipment, but unfortunately, it wasn’t sufficient for containing the fire.
Meanwhile as per police investigations, it was found, that the facility operated without fire NOC.
Although the local police granted a booking license to the gaming zone, valid from January 1 to December 31, 2024, the fire NOC was still pending and had not yet been issued to the facility.
“The game zone had received permissions from the roads and buildings department. It had also submitted a proof of fire safety equipment to obtain the fire NOC, which was under process and not yet completed, said Rajkot Police commissioner Raju Bhargava.
Currently, the FIR against this incident has been registered against 6 people. Which include, Dhaval Corporation proprietor Dhaval Thakkar, Raceway Enterprise partners Ashoksinh Jadeja, Kiritsinh Jadeja, Prakashchand Hiran, Yuvrajsinh Solanki and Rahul Rathod.
The FIR further reveals that the accused persons allegedly erected 50-metre wide and 60-metre-long structure, which had the height of around two to three storeys, where metal sheet fabrication was used to create game zone.
For further probe, the case has now been handed over to crime branch and SIT, which is headed by joint police commissioner Vidhi Chaudhary.
The Gujarat government too has formed the five-member SIT team to look into this matter. Which is to be headed by additional director general of police Subhash Trivedi.
Meanwhile, talking about the casualties, Rajkot collector Prabhav Joshi has recently disclosed, that victims’ samples were recently given to Gandhinagar FSL on early sunday morning.
He has further revealed that the impact is so grave, that “The bodies are charred beyond recognition.”
Currently, the process of collecting DNA samples from the bodies and the relatives who have claimed them has now been completed, so that the identities of the deceased can be established.
