Rajkot game zone fire: French President Emmanuel Macron condoles in Hindi

The fire at the TRP game zone in the Nana-Mava locality of Rajkot on Saturday evening killed at least 27 persons, including children.

French President Emmanuel Macron expressed solidarity on Monday following the tragic fire incident in Rajkot that claimed 28 lives and left several others injured.

France president Emmanuel Macron. (AFP)

“I share the grief of the people of India over the death of nearly thirty people, including children, in a fire in a game zone. My thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the victims. Full solidarity,” Emmanuel Macron said in an X post in Hindi.

The fire occurred on Saturday evening at TRP game zone in Nana-Mava area of Rajkot city, claimed 28 lives, including four children, and left three others injured, according to officials.

President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge expressed their sorrow over the incident.

On Sunday morning, chief minister Bhupendra Patel visited Rajkot and inspected the site of the fire tragedy and also met with the families of the victims.

The Centre has announced an ex gratia payment of ₹2 lakh from the PM's National Relief Fund would be provided to the families of each deceased person. Additionally, the Prime Minister's Office said that ₹50,000 would be given to each injured person.

The Gujarat government has also declared an ex-gratia amount of ₹4 lakh for the families of the deceased and ₹50,000 for those injured in the tragic incident.

An owner partner of the TRP game zone in Rajkot and its manager were arrested for culpable homicide after a fire claimed the lives of 27 people, including children. It was revealed that the facility operated without a fire NOC.

Although the game zone had fire safety equipment, police reported that the measures taken to control the fire were insufficient, resulting in the tragedy on Saturday.

Following the incident, the Gujarat High Court took suo motu cognisance of Rajkot gaming zone fire incident, describing it as a "man-made disaster" due to the presence of highly flammable materials such as petrol, fibres, and fibreglass sheets stored at the site.