Surat: 19 students die as fire engulfs commercial complex

A massive fire engulfed a four-storey commercial complex in Surat on Friday, killing at least 19 teenage students at a coaching centre, many of whom jumped and fell to their deaths while some were suffocated, officials said.

In a video clip of the incident, some young students at the Takshashila Complex in Sarthana area, where the building is located, can be seen jumping off the third and fourth floors amid plumes of thick smoke.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said at least 19 students have died in the fire, but Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel has put the figure at 20.

"As per the information received, 20 students have died in the fire. Many others were injured and shifted to a hospital," Patel said.

Students, mostly teenagers, died "either due to suffocation or jumping off from the complex", he said.

"We have ordered a detailed inquiry into the incident. We will not spare those found guilty," the deputy chief minister added.

Coaching classes at the centre were run in a shade built on .