Death Toll Reaches 25 In Goa Nightclub Fire; Dance Floor Blaze Trapped Victims

At least 25 people died in a fire that broke out at the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Arpora village, North Goa, in the early hours of Sunday, trapping some inside the basement, according to eyewitnesses and police reports.

According to PTI, around 100 people were on the dance floor when the blaze erupted. In a panicked attempt to escape, some ran downstairs, only to get trapped in the kitchen and basement along with the staff. Several others managed to flee the club.

Initial reports had suggested a cylinder blast as the cause of the fire, but a preliminary investigation does not support this.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said most of those who died were kitchen workers, including three women, and there were “three to four tourists” among the victims.

"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. She added that the nightclub was jam-packed due to the weekend crowd and that the fire quickly spread because of a temporary construction made of palm leaves.

The nightclub is located along the backwaters of the Arpora river, with narrow entry and exit points. Fire brigades could not reach the site directly, parking their tankers about 400 metres away. A senior officer from Fire and Emergency Services said the restricted access made controlling the fire extremely difficult, and most of the deaths were caused by suffocation.

CM Sawant, who visited the site, said the nightclub had violated fire safety norms. He announced an inquiry and assured that action would be taken against the club management and the authorities responsible for permitting its operation.

Arpora-Nagoa panchayat sarpanch Roshan Redkar told PTI that the club was operated by Saurav Luthra, who had a dispute with a 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. Redkar added that the panchayat had issued a demolition notice, which was stayed by officials of the Directorate of Panchayats.

Redkar further noted that the premises were originally sublet to Luthra. “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 scene, said local panchayats will conduct a fire safety audit of all nightclubs to prevent such incidents in future. The Calangute panchayat will issue notices to clubs to submit fire safety permissions, and licences of those without proper authorisation will be cancelled, he added.

(With inputs from PTI)