Twenty-two students die in a fire in Surat (India).
2019 Surat fire
On 24 May 2019, a fire occurred at a commercial complex in Sarthana Jakatnaka area of Surat in the Gujarat state of India. 22 students died and 19 others were injured in an academic coaching centre located on the building's terrace. The fire was started by a short circuit on the ground floor; the students in the coaching centre were trapped by the destruction of a wooden staircase. Three people were arrested for their alleged involvement or their alleged negligence leading to the fire and the deaths.
Surat
Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat directly translates to face in Gujarati, Hindi and Urdu. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now the commercial and economic centre of South Gujarat, and one of the largest urban areas of western India. It has well-established diamond and textile industry, and is a major supply centre for apparels and accessories. About 90% of the world's diamonds are cut and polished in Surat. It is the second largest city in Gujarat after Ahmedabad and the eighth largest city by population and ninth largest urban agglomeration in India. It is the administrative capital of the Surat district.
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area; the most populous country since 2023; and, since its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is near Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia.