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A fire ripped through a popular nightclub in India’s Goa state, killing 25 people, including tourists, the state’s chief minister said Sunday.
The blaze occurred just past midnight in Arpora village in North Goa, a party hub, some 25 kilometres from the state capital, Panaji.
Goa’s chief minister, Pramod Sawant, said most of the dead were the club’s kitchen workers, as well as three or four tourists. Six people were injured and are in stable condition, he said. All of the bodies have been recovered.
The fire was caused by a gas cylinder blast and has been extinguished, the Press Trust of India news agency reported, quoting local police. However, witnesses told the agency that the fire began on the club’s first floor, where nearly 100 tourists were on the dance floor. Several rushed to the kitchen below in the chaos and got trapped along with staff, it said.
Fatima Shaikh said the commotion began as flames erupted, according to the news agency. “We rushed out of the club only to see that the entire structure was up in flames,” she said.
The nightclub, located along the Arpora River backwaters, had a narrow entry and exit that forced the firefighters to park their tankers about 400 metres away, delaying the efforts, the news agency said.
Sawant said the club had violated fire safety regulations. The state government ordered an inquiry to determine the exact cause of the fire and responsibility, he said, adding that authorities would act against the club management and officials who allowed it to operate despite the violations.
Local village council official Roshan Redkar told the news agency that authorities had earlier issued a demolition notice for the club, which didn’t have a construction permit from the government. But higher officials rolled back the order, he said.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a social media post called the fire “deeply saddening” and said he spoke with Sawant. Modi said the government “is providing all possible assistance” while offering condolences to the victims’ families.
A popular nightclub in Arpora in India’s Goa state caught fire near midnight, killing at least 25 people, including tourists and staff. Early reports suggest a gas cylinder explosion may have started the blaze.
Accidents, particularly involving gas cylinders and electric short circuits, aren’t uncommon in India and often result in casualties, underlining the need for authorities to implement stringent safety protocols.
“This is not just an accident; it is a criminal failure of safety and governance,” Rahul Gandhi, a top leader of India’s main opposition Congress party, wrote in a social media post. He called for a transparent probe to “fix accountability and ensure such preventable tragedies don’t occur again.”
Global Affairs Canada released a statement extending its condolences and saying it is not aware of any Canadian citizens impacted by the fire.
“Our thoughts are with all those affected by this tragedy, as well as with the friends and family of the victims,” the statement said.
Goa state orders probe
Hours after the fire, Indian authorities ordered an investigation and offered compensation to victims.
“I have ordered a magisterial inquiry into the entire incident to identify the cause and fix responsibility” for the fire in the village of Arpora, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant posted on social media platform X, saying six injured people were in stable condition and receiving medical care.
Modi said he had spoken to Sawant and offered condolences to the bereaved families. Modi posted on X that his office would offer compensation of up to 200,000 rupees ($3,077 Cdn) to each family of the victims and 50,000 rupees ($770 Cdn) to the injured.
The western coastal state of Goa is one of India’s most popular tourist destinations, known for its sandy beaches. About 5.5 million tourists, including 271,000 from abroad, visited Goa in the first half of the year, according to government data.
