At least 25 people, including tourists, were killed in a fire at a popular nightclub in India’s Goa state, the state’s chief minister said Sunday.
The blaze occurred just past midnight in Arpora in North Goa, a party hub located some 15 miles 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 to four tourists. Six people were injured and are in stable condition, he said. The bodies have been recovered.
The fire occurred due to 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 the staff.
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 1,300 feet away, delaying the efforts, the news agency said.
Sawant said the club had violated fire safety regulations. The state government will conduct 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.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a social media post, called the incident deeply saddening and said he spoke with Sawant about the situation. He said the state government “is providing all possible assistance to those affected” while offering condolences to the victims’ families.
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 and regulatory oversight.
“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.”
The western coastal state of Goa is one of India’s most popular tourist destinations, known for its sandy beaches.
