25 killed as midnight blaze tears through club in Goa

TWenty-five people, including foursome from a new delhi fellowship, were killed and captain hicks injured after a monolithic fire ripped through a nightclub in the coastal village of Arpora in north Goa around 11.45pm on Saturday, officials said on Sunday, with chief minister Pramod Sawant adding that electrically detonated pyroguns likely caused the deadly blaze.A combination of factors — key safety lapses, including inadequate number of exits and use of pyroguns, a thatched roof and stacks of alcohol — intensified the fire, causing it to engulf the 300 square metre establishment, Birch by Romeo Lane – an Island Club, in a matter of minutes. Twenty of the victims were staffers at the club, while five were tourists, according to a statement issued by the Goa Police.Four people were arrested following the registration of an FIR: Chief general manager of the club Rajiv Modak, 49; gate manager Priyanshu Thakur, 32 – both residents of Delhi; bar manager Rajveer Singhania, 32, and general manager Vivek Singh, 27 – both residents of Uttar Pradesh.According to eyewitnesses, at least 200 people were inside the club when the incident occurred. It could house up to 500 people. “It started when a belly dance performance was underway. The performers used some cold pyro sticks which upon ignition leapt skywards and came in contact with the ceiling made of bamboo, fibre and straw-type material. This caused some sparks and fumes on the roof and within a few minutes, the whole place was burning,” one of them said, requesting anonymity.Jayesh Diukar, who works at the club, said he managed to escape as he worked in the live kitchen section of the club on the ground floor.“The nightclub has two kitchens — the main kitchen is in the basement and the live kitchen near the main dining area,” Diukar was quoted as saying by local media.By late evening, police had identified all 25 deceased while the post mortem examination of 12 had been completed. Five bodies were handed over to the families. The deceased tourists were identified as Saroj Joshi, Anita Joshi, Kamla Joshi and Vinod Kumar, all residents of Delhi and from the same familywhile a fifth tourist was identified as Ishaq (single name) from Karnataka. Four of the staffers came from Nepal, three from Jharkhand, five from Uttarakhand, three from Assam, two from Maharashtra, two Uttar Pradesh and one from West Bengal.Goa director general of police Alok Kumar said that police have dispatched teams to Delhi to arrest Saurabh Luhtra and Gaurav Luthra, directors of the Being Bharat Romeo Lane Hospitality LLP and other unnamed partners, managers, events’ organisers and others.The fire started on the ground floor, leaving those in the basement trapped and unable to escape. According to fire officials, there were two narrow bridges to and from the venue whose width allowed only a single file of people.“Within 45 minutes, our police and fire departments were at the spot. It was difficult for the fire department to reach the spot because of obstructions on the way. The fire was brought under control within half-an-hour. Initially, the teams discovered only two bodies at the top level. However, when they reached the basement, they found the rest of the 23 bodies,” Sawant said during a press conference.According to fire officials, the nightclub is located along the Arpora River backwaters and did not have a fire certificate. It is surrounded by water with only a narrow bridge leading to the main dance floor and restaurant, due to which firefighters had to park their tenders about 400 metres away from the spot, delaying the efforts.“The nearest the fire engines could get to the establishment was 400 metres away from the fire which delayed our response time,” a fire official said, asking not to be named. The main kitchen in a basement, where most victims died, had no emergency exits, the official added.Sawant added that most of the victims, especially ones down in the basement, died of asphyxiation and not burns. “The preliminary report has suggested that electrical firecrackers lit inside the club may have led to the incident. The nightclub was entirely consumed by the blaze. Some people who managed to get out were safe,” Sawant said. The chief minister has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident.Officials said the Mapusa fire station received the first distress call at 11.45pm on Saturday, after which one fire tender rushed to the spot, with four following. The blaze was brought under control by 4.45am, director general of fire services Nitin Raikar said.According to Arpora-Nagoa panchayat sarpanch Roshan Redkar, the nightclub was constructed on what was once a salt pan, where no construction is allowed as per law. It was established in October 2023. Its owners were issued a demolition notice by the village panchayat as well as the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority. The demolition was stayed by the directorate of panchayats in April last year on appeal by the owner of the premises Surinder Kumar Khosla.Sawant chaired a high-level meeting and announced the constitution of two committees — a fact finding committee headed by the North Goa collector to probe the incident, and a second committee headed by the revenue secretary to conduct an audit of all nightclubs operating in the state to ascertain if they have the mandatory permissions to operate. “The director of forensics is to submit a report within one week,” Sawant said.The inquiry into the role of others is ongoing. Arrest warrants have been issued for the two owners of the clubs and a team has left for Delhi to apprehend them,” Sawant said.The Goa government issued an order placing Shamila Monteiro, the then member secretary of the Goa State Pollution Control Board for having issued the establishment a consent to operate. Suspension orders were also issued to panchayat officials Siddhi Halarnkar and Raghuvir Bagkar.“Goa was always known as a safe tourist destination. We have to undertake a safety audit of all clubs and restaurants especially of air-conditioned establishments not just of the guest species but also of the working spaces,” local MLA Michael Lobo said.On Sunday evening, a shack belonging to the promoters of the Arpora nightclub was sealed, an official said. “District officials visited shack ‘Romeo Lane’ at Vagator beach, after which the sealing action was taken,” he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.Another eyewitness, Avni, who was outside the nightclub when the incident took place, said the staff was busy even after the fire was first noticed. “No one raised the alarm and no one warned the people in the basement to escape,” he alleged.Sawant announced an ex-gratia of ₹5 lakh each for the victims’ kin and ₹50,000 to those injured. The Prime Minister’s Office announced an ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh from Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund to the next of kin of each deceased, while the injured will be given ₹50,000.President Droupadi Murmu condoled the incident. “Deeply pained by the tragic fire incident in North Goa district resulting in the loss of precious lives. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. May they find strength during this difficult time. I pray for the speedy recovery of those injured,” she said in a post on X.Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he spoke to Sawant about the situation. “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. Spoke to Goa CM Dr. Pramod Sawant Ji about the situation. The State Government is providing all possible assistance to those affected,” the Prime Minister wrote on X.Meanwhile, the state opposition hit out at the government for alleged lawlessness leading to the tragedy. “This horrific incident is not an accident — it is the direct result of the complete collapse of governance, regulatory oversight, and public safety under the BJP government,” state Congress president Amit Patkar said.