At least 25 killed, 6 injured in massive fire at nightclub in Goa

Most of the dead were the club's kitchen workers, and included three women, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said. There were three to four tourists among those killed, he added

At least 25 persons were killed and six others suffered injuries in a massive fire that erupted at a nightclub in North Goa after midnight on Sunday, police said.

 

While the police earlier said 23 persons died in the fire, they later confirmed two more deaths.

 

The fire at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora in North Goa has claimed 25 lives, a police spokesperson said.

 

 

        The deceased included four tourists and 14 staff members, while the identity of the remaining seven was yet to be established, he said.  

Six persons suffered injuries in the blaze and they are currently undergoing treatment at the Goa Medical College and Hospital, Bambolim, near here, the official said.

 

The cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained, he said.

 

"The police and fire department are conducting the investigation and legal action is being taken," the official said.

 

As per initial information, the nightclub had not abided by the fire safety norms, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said.

 

The nightclub, a popular party venue at Arpora village, located around 25 km from the state capital Panaji, opened last year.

 

We will take action against the club management and also against the officials who allowed it to operate despite flouting safety norms, Sawant said.

 

This is an unfortunate incident during the peak tourist season in the coastal state, Sawant said. We will conduct a detailed inquiry into the incident and stringent action will be taken against the guilty, he added.

   

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday spoke to Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant after a nightclub blaze in the coastal state claimed 23 lives.

 

The fire mishap in Arpora, Goa is deeply saddening. My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones. May the injured recover at the earliest, Modi posted on X. Spoke to Goa CM Dr Pramod Sawant Ji about the situation. The State Government is providing all possible assistance to those affected, Modi said.  An ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) will be given to the next of kin of each deceased in the mishap in Arpora, Goa. The injured would be given ₹50,000, the PMO said in a separate statement.  

At least 100 persons were on the dance floor of a nightclub in North Goa when a fire broke out there, and in an attempt to escape, some of them ran downstairs to its kitchen where they got trapped along with the staff, according to an eyewitness.

While the state police said the blaze occurred at the nightclub due to a cylinder blast after midnight on Sunday, some of the eyewitnesses claimed the fire started on the club's first floor, where tourists were dancing.  "There was a sudden commotion as the flames started erupting. We rushed out of the club only to see that the entire structure was up in flames," Fatima Shaikh, a tourist from Hyderabad, told PTI at Arpora in the wee hours of Sunday.

The nightclub was jam-packed as it was the weekend, and at least 100 persons were on the dance floor, she said.

Shaikh said that after the blaze erupted, some of the tourists started running downstairs and, in the melee, went to the kitchen located on the ground floor. They (tourists) got trapped there along with other staff. Many managed to run out of the club, she added.

In no time, the entire club was engulfed in the fire. There was a temporary construction made up of palm leaves which easily caught fire, she said.  A senior officer from the Fire and Emergency Services told PTI that the narrow access made it difficult to reach the spot, which in turn made controlling the blaze a challenging task.

He said that the majority of the deaths were caused by suffocation, as the victims remained trapped on the ground floor.  

Arpora-Nagoa panchayat sarpanch Roshan Redkar said the club was run by Saurav Luthra, who had a dispute with his partner.

There was a dispute between them and they had filed a complaint against each other with the panchayat. We had inspected the premises and found that they did not have the permission to construct the club, he said.

The panchayat had issued a demolition notice, which was stayed by the officials of the Directorate of Panchayats, Redkar said.

The original owner of the premises had sublet the place to Luthra, he said.

"The fire incident that happened was unfortunate. We have been issuing notices to the establishments that are seen violating the norms. Now, we have to be more vigilant, he said.

Calangute MLA Michael Lobo, who also visited the site after the incident, said the local panchayats will conduct a fire safety audit of all the nightclubs to ensure such an incident does not recur.

The Calangute panchayat will issue notices to all the nightclubs on Monday, asking them to provide fire safety permissions, the MLA said.

The licenses of clubs not having the necessary permissions will be cancelled, he added.