Indian police have filed a culpable homicide case against three people as the death toll from a building fire on Friday in the city of Surat in Gujarat state rose to 20.

Students attending coaching classes accounted for all those killed, police said.

A distressing video showed the moment several students leapt from the third floor of the building in a bid to escape the blaze.

The Gujarat government has ordered an inquiry into the incident, as well as a fire safety audit of schools, colleges, coaching centres and commercial buildings in Surat.

At least 19 students were killed after a massive fire engulfed the top floor of a building which had a coaching centre in it in Sarthana area of Surat in Gujarat, India.

The students took to jump from the top of the building in order to save their lives.

The horrifying footages show the students jumping from the top floor as one by one releases the grip and comes with a thud on the ground.

The bystanders watch helplessly as the students took a leap to save themselves from being burnt.

The coaching centre was located on the 3rd floor of the Taxila complex building.

The students also jumped out of the doors and windows as more than 50 people were there inside the building at that point of time.

15 people died due to the jump and 4 due to the fire, around 20 are being treated at the nearby hospital.

19 fire tenders were rushed to the spot immediately.

An enquiry has been set up by the state's Chief Minister Vijay Rupani to find the actual cause of the fire.

There are speculations that the fire was caused due to a short circuit.

The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi also expressed his condolences regarding the incident.