At least 100 dead as blaze destroys Indian trade fair

AT least 100 people were killed when flames engulfed a crowded trade fair in the north Indian city of Meerut, police said.

"At least 100 people are dead," Rajiv Sabarwal, police chief at Meerut, 80 kilometres north of New Delhi, said yesterday.

Witnesses said bodies were charred beyond recognition and scattered throughout the stalls of the exhibition ground. Badly burnt bodies of men, women and children had been dumped in the back of trucks, police inspector Rakesh Tomar said, adding that the death toll could rise significantly.