At least 24 people died, most of them children, in a fire that broke out on Saturday at an amusement park in western India, a local official said.

In addition, nine people were hospitalized, added Prabhav Joshi, manager of Rajkot municipality in Gujarat state, noting that the toll was likely to rise.

“Police arrested four people associated with the gaming room for questioning,” he added. “We're trying to find out more from the owner of the place.”

More than 300 people were in a room of the two-story structure at the TRP amusement park when the fire broke out over the summer holiday weekend, Rajkot fire officer Ilesh Kher told reporters.

“People were trapped by the collapse of temporary buildings near the entrance, making it difficult to evacuate,” he added. Apart from that, the spread of fire is also caused by the highly flammable nature of the material.

Photos taken at the site show the corrugated iron structure, much of it collapsed. It took almost an hour to extinguish the fire.

On social networks, images (which AFP could not yet authenticate) showed flames engulfing the building and sending plumes of black smoke rising into the sky.

Fire officials said a short circuit was suspected to be the cause of the disaster.

Gujarat is the home state of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who posted in “.

Photos posted on the Instagram account show that the venue includes a bowling alley, go-kart track and trampoline.

Fires occur frequently in India due to poor building conditions, overcrowding and lack of compliance with safety regulations.

In February, eleven people lost their lives in a fire that hit a paint factory in the capital New Delhi.

In 2022, at least 27 people died and dozens more were injured after a major fire broke out in a four-story commercial building in the city.

In 2016, more than a hundred people died in a massive fireworks explosion in the southern state of Kerala.