No fewer than 24 people have died in a “massive fire” at a games arcade in India, local officials say.
Flames and a huge pall of smoke could be seen rising into the sky at the building in Rajkot, in the western state of Gujarat.
“So far 24 bodies have been sent to the civil hospital, and some bodies are still being recovered,” Rajkot Police Commissioner Raju Bhargava told BBC Gujarati. Several victims are reported to be children.
There are fears more victims may still be trapped under the wreckage.
Local police have also said that identification of the heavily burned bodies had proven difficult.
The blaze broke out on Saturday afternoon when the arcade was packed with children and young people. It has been brought under control, authorities say.
The cause of the fire has yet to be determined. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said a “special investigation team” had been assigned.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said he was “extremely distressed” by the fire in Rajkot and said his thoughts were with those who had lost loved ones.
