Surat: Fire near primary school, over 100 students shifted

Over 100 students of a primary school were Tuesday shifted to safety following a fire in a nearby plastic bag factory in Bhatar area of Gujarat's Surat city, officials said. No one was injured in the incident and probe has been instituted by district educations authorities as well as the police, an official said.

Around 100 students of the Gyanganga Primary School were shifted by authorities there after a fire broke out in the plastic factory, and a team under Surat joint commissioner DN Patel rushed to the spot, he said. "We have called forensic experts to find out the cause of the fire. We are also probing if the factory owner took precautions as per the law," said Patel.

Surat District Education Officer HS Rajyaguru launched an inquiry to check if the school had flouted fire safety norms. "This is a non-granted Hindi medium primary school.

The fire started inside a plastic bag manufacturing unit adjacent to the school. No one was injured in the incident as students were moved out in time. There were around 100 students in the school at the time of the fire," he said. "Two officers will visit the premises tomorrow to conduct an inquiry on steps taken by the school to deal with such a situation. We will take strict action if the school management is at fault," Rajyaguru said.