Panaji | A jampacked nightclub in North Goa turned into a death trap after midnight on Sunday as a massive fire tore through it, claiming 25 lives and leaving six injured while raising serious questions about `illegal' operations and flouting of safety norms.
While the police said earlier in the day that a cylinder blast seemed to have started the blaze, a tourist who survived the tragedy claimed that fireworks were set off when dancers were performing, and it was the likely cause.
Most of the deaths were caused by suffocation, as the victims, many of them employees, got trapped on the ground floor of `Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub at Arpora, 25 km from Panaji, a fire official said.
While Chief Minister Pramod Sawant vowed action against officials who allowed the club to operate despite flouting safety rules, and an FIR was registered against the owners, a village official claimed that the structure itself was illegal.
The deceased included four tourists and 14 staff members, while the identity of the remaining seven was yet to be established, police said.
The establishment did not possess even an NOC from the fire department or the permission to sell liquor, a Congress leader alleged.
"We have registered an FIR (First Information Report) against Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, the owners, under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita sections," a senior police officer told PTI.
An FIR was also registered against the club manager and event organisers, he said, adding that the sarpanch of Arpora-Nagoa, Roshan Redkar, who had issued a trade license for the club in 2013, was detained.
President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, among others, expressed grief over the tragedy. An ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund will be given to the next of kin of each deceased and the injured would be given Rs 50,000, the PMO said.
A preliminary inquiry indicated that the fire started on the first floor, and due to congestion and small doors, customers could not move out. "Some of them rushed to the ground floor and got trapped there," CM Sawant said.
“We will take action against the club management and also against the officials who allowed it to operate despite flouting safety norms. This is an unfortunate incident during the peak tourist season,” the CM said, adding, “We will conduct a detailed inquiry through a magistrate and stringent action will be taken against the guilty.”
While the state police initially said the blaze occurred due to a cylinder blast, some eyewitnesses claimed the fire started on the club's first floor where tourists were dancing when fireworks were set off.
Riya, a tourist from Delhi who managed to get out in time, claimed that firecrackers burst all around when dancers were performing.
"The fire must have been caused due to this. There was a stampede-like situation," she said.
At least 100 persons were on the dance floor, and in an attempt to escape the fire, some of them ran downstairs to the kitchen where they got trapped with the staff, Fatima Shaikh, a tourist from Hyderabad, told PTI.
"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," she said.
The nightclub was jam-packed as it was the weekend, she said.
In no time, the entire club was engulfed in flames. “There was a temporary construction made up of palm leaves which easily caught fire,” said Shaikh.
The nightclub is situated in the backwaters of the Arpora river and has a narrow entry and exit. There was no access for fire brigade vehicles because of the narrow lanes and their tankers had to be parked about 400 metres away from the spot.
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.
Most of the deaths were caused by suffocation as the victims remained trapped on the ground floor, he said.
Arpora-Nagoa panchayat sarpanch Roshan Redkar said earlier in the day that the club was run by Saurabh Luthra, who had a dispute with his partner. "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.
Distraught relatives and friends of the victims gathered outside the morgue of the Goa Medical College and Hospital, anxiously awaiting information about their loved ones.
Some of them, hailing from a village in Jharkhand, said they would not accept the bodies and demanded that the nightclub owner arrange for the mortal remains to be transported back home.
Four persons from their village worked as helpers and cooks at the nightclub, they said.
Another group of five persons from Assam was also seen sitting outside the morgue. While they refused to talk to the media, one of them claimed that some of the fire victims were their friends.
A senior police official said that it will take a day to identify all the bodies and conduct the postmortem, only after which the mortal remains will be handed over to their relatives.
The Goa Church expressed grief over the loss of lives in the incident.
The Opposition hit out at the BJP government in the state over the tragedy.
Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, said he was deeply pained by the incident. "This is not just an accident; it is a criminal failure of safety and governance," he said on X.
The state Aam Aadmi Party unit claimed the Sawant government has lost the "moral right" to stay in power.
AAP Goa president Amit Palekar, in a post on X, questioned why the government had not taken any action against the nightclub, which had allegedly not followed norms despite the issue being raised in the state assembly.
The Congress too demanded Sawant's resignation, with its Goa desk in-charge Manikrao Thakare claiming that the club had not obtained No-Objection Certificate from the fire department.
Panaji | Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Sunday said four staff members of the `Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub have been arrested following the fire tragedy, and he has ordered action against officials who allowed the club to operate while flouting rules.
Preliminary inquiry revealed that "electric firecrackers" were set off inside which started the blaze, he said, adding that club owners Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra would soon be arrested.
He has ordered state chief secretary Dr V Candavelou and Director General of Police Alok Kumar to identify and act against the guilty government officials, Sawant said, speaking to reporters hours after the fire at the club claimed 25 lives.
Sawant held a series of meetings with high-ranking officials from the state administration and home department to review the situation following the tragic fire.
The DGP was directed to take strict punitive action against the owners of the club, Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, against whom an FIR has been registered, Sawant said, adding the duo would be soon arrested.
The club's chief general manager Rajiv Modak, general manager Vivek Singh, bar manager Rajiv Singhania and gate manager Riyanshu Thakur were arrested by the police, the CM said.
The government has also formed a committee of South Goa Collector, Deputy Director of Fire and Emergency Services and Director of Forensic Laboratory to inquire into the incident, he informed.
The committee will submit its report within a week.
The government has worked out measures to ensure that such incidents do not occur again, the CM said.
An advisory will be issued to all the nightclubs and other establishments in the hospitality sector asking them to take adequate safety precautions, he added.
Government officials who allowed the club to operate -- even though it violated several rules -- would be suspended during the day, Sawant said.
The state authorities will also conduct an audit of clubs which operate without permissions and also the places where there is a possibility of people gathering in large numbers, the chief minister said.
An ex-gratia of Rs five lakh for the nearest kin of each deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured would be paid from the State Disaster Management Authority Funds, he said.
Arrangements would be made to take the mortal remains of the deceased to their native places, he informed.
The incident happened at 11.45 pm on Saturday, and teams of Fire and Emergency Services and Police rushed to the site immediately, Sawant said.
Initially the fire fighters saw only two bodies on the floor but later found 23 more bodies in the kitchen, and these persons had died due to suffocation, the CM said.
New Delhi/Panaji | Leaders cutting across party lines on Sunday expressed grief over loss of lives in the Goa nightclub fire even as the Congress brass demanded a thorough probe into the incident which claimed 25 lives.
President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed deep pain and sadness over the incident and prayed for the speedy recovery of those injured.
"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," the President said in a post on X.
Prime Minister Modi called the fire incident in Arpora, Goa "deeply saddening". "My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones. May the injured recover at the earliest," he wrote on X.
Modi said he spoke to Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant about the situation. "The State Government is providing all possible assistance to those affected," he said.
Vice President C P Radhakrishnan too condoled the deaths in the inferno.
In a post on X, he said, "Deeply saddened by the loss of lives in the tragic fire incident at Arpora, Goa. My heartfelt condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones. My thoughts and prayers are with them in this moment of immense sorrow."
Union Home Minister Amit Shah also offered his condolences to the families of those who lost their dear ones and said that the local administration is carrying out rescue and relief operations and providing the necessary care to the affected.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge expressed his deepest condolences to those who lost their loved ones in the blaze.
"This avoidable tragic incident is an irreparable loss, and I pray for the speedy recovery of all those who have been injured.
"Such tragedies call for a comprehensive investigation, strict accountability, and immediate steps to ensure that all fire safety norms are enforced, so that such devastating incidents are never repeated," Kharge said on X.
Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, said he was deeply pained by the tragic fire in Arpora.
"This is not just an accident; it is a criminal failure of safety and governance. A thorough, transparent probe must fix accountability and ensure such preventable tragedies don't occur again," Gandhi said in an X post.
A jampacked nightclub in North Goa turned into a death trap after midnight on Sunday as a massive fire tore through it, claiming 25 lives and leaving six injured while raising serious questions about "illegal" operations and flouting of safety norms.
While the police said earlier in the day that a cylinder blast seemed to have started the blaze, a tourist who survived the tragedy claimed that fireworks were set off when dancers were performing, and it was the likely cause.
Most of the deaths were caused by suffocation, as the victims, many of them employees, got trapped on the ground floor of 'Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub at Arpora, 25 km from Panaji, a fire official said.
While Chief Minister Pramod Sawant vowed action against officials who allowed the club to operate despite flouting safety rules, and an FIR was registered against the owners, a village official claimed that the structure itself was illegal.
The deceased included four tourists and 14 staff members, while the identity of the remaining seven was yet to be established, police said.
Congress general secretary, organisation, K C Venugopal sought fixing of accountability for the tragic blaze.
"This tragedy took place because of the negligence of the authorities in enforcing fire safety norms. We urge a thorough and impartial investigation to identify those responsible and to ensure accountability, so that such a tragedy is never repeated," he said in a post on X.
Senior Aam Aadmi Party leader Atishi Marlena sought to know who created the "death trap" that resulted in 25 people losing their lives.
"Who has created this death trap? Is local MLA involved in it? Is the minister responsible? Is the CM responsible," the former Delhi chief minister questioned.
"Why has no senior government officer been suspended so far despite the chief minister admitting the club was operating without any clearances," Atishi, who is the AAP's Goa desk in-charge, asked.
Trinamool Congress leaders also expressed grief over the loss of lives in the fire.
In a post on X, TMC's Rajya Sabha deputy leader Sagarika Ghose called it a total collapse of the "double-engine" model of governance in Goa.
"Shocked, heartbroken at the tragic news of deaths in Goa's Arpora fire. Prayers for those who perished and condolences to the bereaved families," Ghose said.
"The sad truth is that this is yet another man-made tragedy. No state exemplifies the total collapse of the so-called double-engine model than Goa...," she said.
Panaji | Three young men from Jharkhand had migrated to Goa a year ago to earn a better living for their families back home and started working as cooks in 'Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub in north Goa.
In the early hours of Sunday, that dream ended in a horrific tragedy when a devastating inferno raged through the popular facility, leaving Vinod Mahato (19), Pradeep Mahato (24), and Mohit (24) dead along with 22 other persons, most of them staff members.
Distraught Rajiv Sahu, a cousin of Vinod Mahato, is now preparing to make arrangements to transport the mortal remains of the trio back to Jharkhand.
Relatives and friends of the victims, some from Assam, Jharkhand, and Uttarakhand, gathered outside the morgue of the Goa Medical College and Hospital, anxiously awaiting information about their loved ones.
Sahu, who works in Ponda town in the coastal state, told reporters that Vinod, Paradeep, and Mohit came to Goa a year ago to work as cooks in the nightclub.
"They have families back home in Ranchi. They come from agricultural backgrounds. They came to Goa to earn a better living a year ago," he told reporters, adding that he would transport the three bodies in a flight to Ranchi.
Relatives of the deceased have started making arrangements for carrying the mortal remains back to their native places in Jharkhand and Uttarakhand.
They are probably not aware of the announcement made by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant that the state government will make arrangements for transporting the bodies.
Another victim, Satish Rana (27), originally from Uttarakhand, was working as a chef in the watering hole. His relatives rushed to Goa after learning about the tragedy.
One of the relatives said he has identified the bodies of Rana and three others who hailed from Uttarakhand.
"When I came to know about the incident, I rushed here to identify Rana's body and take it back home for rituals," he said.
Panaji | Three senior officials of the Goa government, including the then Director of Panchayat, were suspended on Sunday in connection with the nightclub fire tragedy for their role in allowing the facility to start operations in 2023, a senior officer said.
A massive fire tore through the nightclub late Saturday night, claiming 25 lives, including five tourists and 20 staff members.
The suspended officials include Siddhi Tushar Harlankar, who was then Director of Panchayat, Dr Shamila Monteiro, who was then Member Secretary of the Goa State Pollution Control Board, and Raghuvir Bagkar, then Secretary of Village Panchayat Arpora-Nagoa.
They are held responsible for giving permission to 'Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub at Arpora to start its operations in 2023, a senior officer said.
Police questioned Roshan Redkar, the sarpanch of Arpora-Nagoa Panchayat, who had issued a trade licence to the club.
