In a heart-wrenching incident that has cast a shadow over Goa's peak tourist season, a massive fire at a popular nightspot claimed 25 lives late on Saturday night. The inferno ripped through Birch by Romeo Lane in Arpora, marking the deadliest fire tragedy in the coastal state's history.
The Deadly Night: Sequence of Events
The disaster unfolded around 11:45 PM on Saturday during a packed event with over 150 tourists in attendance. Preliminary investigations by the Goa police and fire department point to electric firecrackers as the cause. These firecrackers reportedly hit the club's wooden ceiling, sparking the initial blaze.
Upon noticing the fire, performers halted the event, prompting a frantic rush for the exits. While most patrons managed to escape, a group became trapped as flames engulfed the main exit door. In a desperate bid for survival, they moved towards the basement via a small staircase.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant confirmed there was no blast, attributing the rapid spread of the fire to the highly flammable wooden ceiling. The basement, which had no ventilation, became a death trap where 23 people succumbed to suffocation. Rescue personnel were met with a harrowing scene of bodies piled on top of each other. Two more charred bodies were recovered from the staircase.
Victims, Arrests, and Government Response
Among the deceased were five tourists, including four members of a single family from Delhi and one from Karnataka. The remaining 20 victims were employees of the club hailing from Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Nepal.
Goa Police have registered an FIR against the club owners, Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. CM Sawant stated that arrest warrants have been issued and a police team has left for Delhi to apprehend them. Meanwhile, four staff members have been arrested: chief general manager Rajiv Modak (49) and gate manager Priyanshu Thakur (32) from Delhi; and bar manager Rajveer Singhania (32) and general manager Vivek Singh (27) from Uttar Pradesh.
In a swift follow-up action, the state government sealed another nightclub, Romeo Lane at Vagator, owned by the same individuals due to inadequate fire safety measures.
Ex-Gratia and Aftermath
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of each deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured. The Goa government, under CM Sawant, has announced additional compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the families of the dead and Rs 50,000 for the injured.
Of the six injured persons, five are undergoing treatment at the Goa Medical College (GMC). Postmortem examinations have been completed on 17 bodies, with five already handed over to their families for last rites. The tragic incident serves as a grim reminder of the critical importance of stringent fire safety protocols in public spaces, especially as the state gears up for its busiest tourism period.
