Goa nightclub fire: General manager held, owner faces arrest for 25 deaths

At least 25 people, including tourists, were reportedly killed in a blaze at a nightclub in North Goa late on Saturday (December 6) night.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the fire. He told NDTV that the general manager of the nightclub has been arrested, while an arrest warrant has been issued against the owner.

Most of the dead were the club’s kitchen workers, and included three women, Sawant said. The deceased reportedly included four tourists and 14 staff members, while the remaining seven are yet to be identified.

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

Confusion over source of fire

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.

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.

At least 100 persons were on the dance floor when the 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, said an eyewitness.

“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 news agency PTI at Arpora early on Sunday.

Jam-packed nightclub with poor exit

The nightclub was jam-packed as it was the weekend, and at least 100 people 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.

Club flouted safety norms

Chief Minister Sawant, who immediately went to the spot, told reporters earlier that three of the victims succumbed to burn injuries and the others died due to suffocation.

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

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“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,” the chief minister added.

FIR against GM, owner

Chief Minister Sawant later ordered a magisterial inquiry into the fire. Speaking to PTI, Sawant said an FIR has been lodged against the owner and the general manager of the nightclub and they would be arrested. Later, he told NDTV that the general manager had been arrested.

CM Sawant, in a post on X, said, “I am closely reviewing the situation arising from the tragic fire incident at Arpora, in which 25 people have lost their lives and six 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.”

Sawant told PTI that a preliminary inquiry has indicated that the fire started on the first floor of the club, and due to congestion and small doors, the customers could not move out. “Some of them rushed to the ground floor and got trapped there,” he said.

Cylinder blast blamed

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

“All the 23 bodies have been recovered from the premises and sent to the government medical college at Bambolim,” local BJP MLA Michael Lobo said early on Sunday. The toll rose to 25 later in the morning.

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

Narrow entry point made access difficult

The nightclub is situated in the backwaters of the Arpora river and has a narrow entry and exit. There was no access for the fire brigades to the club 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.

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

PM announces ex-gratia

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF for the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs 50,000.

“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,” he tweeted.

President Droupadi Murmu posted on X, “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.”

Most victims died of suffocation

Lobo told news agency ANI early on Sunday, “We will need to conduct a safety audit of all other clubs in Goa, which is very important. Tourists have always considered Goa a very safe destination, but the fire incident is very disturbing, and such incidents should not happen in the future. The safety of tourists and the workers in these establishments is extremely important.”

Sanjay Kumar Gupta, a security guard at Birch told news agency ANI, “The incident occurred between 11 pm and 12 midnight. Suddenly, there was a fire...I was at the gate...A DJ, dancer was going to come here, and it was about to get really crowded...”

A security guard at a restaurant nearby told ANI that they heard “a massive explosion”. “We later learned that the fire broke out after a cylinder blast,” he added.

Dispute between partners

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.

(With agency inputs)