Rajkot fire: Family loses five members, newly-married couple among victims

Rajkot: A fun weekend outing turned tragic for the Jadeja family, who lost five of its members in the massive fire at the TRP game zone in Gujarat's Rajkot city.

The Jadejas were at the game zone at Nana Mava on Saturday evening when the place was engulfed in flames, and 27 persons lost their lives.

Virendrasinh Jadeja (42) went missing after he rushed to the upper floor of the game zone to rescue his son and three other relatives after the blaze broke out, his daughter Devikaba Jadeja said.

Authorities count the deceased as 'missing' while families await confirmation of their DNA samples sent to Gandhinagar Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for examination.

Rajkot Collector Prabhav Joshi said the death toll in the tragedy stood at 27, and DNA samples of all the victims were sent to Gandhinagar FSL in the wee hours of Sunday by air ambulance.

"To be doubly sure and ensure there is no issue of bodies getting exchanged, we decided to send samples of all the bodies," he said.

Of the five members of the Jadeja family who are missing and presumed dead, three are children in the age group of 10-15 years, said a distraught Devikaba.

Recalling Saturday's horror, Devikaba said, "My parents, brother, and my maternal uncle's family went to the game zone, and we were at a restaurant while my two brothers and sister went to the upper floor to play a trampoline game."

"We were sitting in the restaurant when the fire broke out. My father and uncle rushed up to where my brothers and sister were playing on the trampoline, and a couple of blasts occurred, and nobody could escape," she said.

She claimed that there was no equipment to fight the fire and no fire alarm was heard.

"There was no fire safety equipment or a fire exit, because of which nobody could get out safely," she said.

Among the other victims were a newly married couple, Vivek (26) and Khushali Dusara (24), and their sister-in-law Tisha, who went missing at the game zone.

Their family in Gir Somnath district spent a sleepless night as they couldn't contact the couple over the phone.

On Sunday, they left for Rajkot to ascertain if the couple was among the victims of the fire.

Vivek and Khushali had tied the knot just two months back, they said.

For family members of the missing persons, the situation is nerve-racking as they wait for DNA confirmation so that they can collect the bodies, many of which are charred beyond recognition, for last rites.

On Sunday, an NDRF team with sniffer dogs was engaged to remove the debris and ensure the area was safe.