A fire at an amusement park killed 27 people including at least 12 children in India on Saturday.

Flames ripped through a two-storey building packed with youngsters inside the TRP Gaming Zone in Rajkot city in the state of Gujarat.

Rajkot Police Commissioner Raju Bhargava said more than 300 people were inside the temporary structure when the fire started. They had difficulty escaping from the inferno.

He said: 'In the afternoon, there was a fire in the TRP gaming area. The search and rescue is underway. The fire has been put out.

'Our goal is to recover as many bodies as we can. There will be investigations.

'We're going to file a report of carelessness along with the deaths that have happened. After we finish the rescue efforts here, we will conduct additional inquiries.'

The cause of the fire is under investigation. The park manager and owner have both been brought to the police station to be questioned.

The prime minister, Narendra Modi, wrote on X that he was “extremely distressed by the fire. My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones. Prayers for the injured.”

It took nearly an hour to douse the fire, with about a dozen ambulances carrying the injured to hospital.

Fire department officials said a short-circuit was suspected as the cause and police at the site said the bodies of the dead were heavily burned, making identification difficult.