25 perish in midnight blaze at Goa club; three women among victims

Sawant said, "All six injured persons are in a stable condition and are receiving the best medical care. I have ordered a magisterial inquiry into the entire incident to identify the cause and fix responsibility."

Panaji: At least 25 people were killed after a fire broke out at a club in North Goa's Arpora village late Saturday night.

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant expressed anguish at the loss of life, calling it a 'painful day for Goa' and ordered an inquiry into this incident.

He took to his X (formerly Twitter) and wrote, "Today is a very painful day for all of us in Goa. A major fire incident at Arpora has taken the lives of 23 people. I am deeply grieved and offer my heartfelt condolences to all the bereaved families in this hour of unimaginable loss.

" I visited the incident site and have ordered an inquiry into this incident. The inquiry will examine the exact cause of the fire and whether fire safety norms and building rules were followed. Those found responsible will face most stringent action under the law- any negligence will be dealt with firmly."

Sawant later on said that 6 people were injured in the fire and are 'receiving the best medical care'. They are said to be in stable condition.

He wrote, "I am closely reviewing the situation arising from the tragic fire incident at Arpora, in which 25 people have lost their lives and 6 have been injured.

"All six injured persons are in a stable condition and are receiving the best medical care. I have ordered a magisterial inquiry into the entire incident to identify the cause and fix responsibility."

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

Sawant, who rushed to the spot, told reporters that of the 23 (the initial death toll), three succumbed to burn injuries and the others died due to suffocation.

As per initial information, the nightclub had not abided by the fire safety norms, the chief minister said.

The fire broke out at Birch by Romeo Lane after midnight. The popular party venue at Arpora village, 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.

Goa police chief Alok Kumar told PTI that the fire occurred due to a cylinder blast.

Firefighters and police teams rushed to the spot immediately and were engaged in rescue efforts through the night, Lobo told reporters.

Lobo said officials will conduct the fire safety audit of all the clubs to ensure that such incidents do not recur.

The Calangute panchayat will be issuing notices to all the nightclubs on Monday asking them to provide fire safety permissions, the MLA said. The licenses of clubs not having necessary permissions will be cancelled, he added.

(with PTI inputs)