A devastating fire broke out after midnight on Sunday at the popular Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Arpora village, approximately 25 km from Goa’s capital, Panaji, killing at least 23 people and leaving the bustling weekend venue in ruins.
According to eyewitnesses, at least 100 people were packed onto the dance floor when the blaze erupted. In the ensuing panic, several partygoers ran downstairs seeking escape, only to become trapped in the kitchen area on the ground floor along with staff members.
While the state police attributed the fire to a cylinder blast, some eyewitnesses told reporters that the flames first appeared on the club’s first floor, where tourists were dancing. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant confirmed that most of the deceased were kitchen workers, including three women, and that “three to four tourists” were among those killed.
Fatima Shaikh, a tourist from Hyderabad who escaped the inferno, described the terrifying moments in the early hours of Sunday at the scene. “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 because it was the weekend, with at least 100 people on the dance floor, Shaikh added.
She recounted how, after the fire broke out, some tourists ran downstairs in panic and, in the chaos, ended up in the kitchen on the ground floor. “They (tourists) along with other staff got trapped there. Many managed to run out of the club,” she said.
Within minutes, the entire venue was completely engulfed. “There was a temporary construction made up of palm leaves which easily caught fire,” Shaikh noted.
The nightclub is located along the backwaters of the Arpora river and is accessible only through narrow lanes, with a single narrow entry and exit point. Fire tenders could not reach the building directly and had to be parked roughly 400 metres away.
A senior officer from the Fire and Emergency Services said that the restricted access severely hampered operations and made controlling the blaze extremely difficult.
He confirmed that the majority of the deaths were due to suffocation, as victims remained trapped on the ground floor.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who visited the site shortly after the incident, told reporters that the nightclub had not adhered to fire safety norms.
Sawant announced that he would order a magisterial inquiry into the tragedy and that strict action would be taken against the club management as well as the authorities who permitted it to operate.
Arpora-Nagoa panchayat sarpanch Roshan Redkar revealed that the club was operated by Saurav Luthra, who was involved in a dispute with his business partner. The two had filed complaints against each other with the panchayat.
“We had inspected the premises and found that they did not have the permission to construct the club,” Redkar said. A demolition notice had been issued by the panchayat, but it was stayed by officials of the Directorate of Panchayats, he added. The original owner of the land had sublet the property to Luthra.
“The fire 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,” the sarpanch said.
Calangute MLA Michael Lobo, who also visited the site, announced that local panchayats would immediately conduct fire-safety audits of all nightclubs in the area to prevent any recurrence. The Calangute panchayat will issue notices to every nightclub on Monday, directing them to submit valid fire-safety permissions, Lobo said, warning that licences of non-compliant clubs would be cancelled.
Also Read: 23 dead in Goa nightclub fire after cylinder blast
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