Goa's worst club fire in years: 23 dead after cylinder blast - here's what we know so far

A late-night blaze at a popular North Goa nightclub has left 23 people dead, most of them kitchen staff, after what police described as a cylinder blast that triggered a rapid fire and thick smoke inside the premises. The incident, which occurred just past midnight at Birch by Romeo Lane in Arpora, unfolded during the peak tourist season.

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who visited the site in the early hours, said the victims included "three to four tourists" and confirmed that three people died of burn injuries while the others succumbed to suffocation. He said preliminary findings showed the nightclub had not complied with fire safety requirements. 

"We will take action against the club management and also against the officials who allowed it to operate despite flouting safety norms," Sawant told reporters. Calling the deaths "an unfortunate incident during the peak tourist season in the coastal state, he added, “We will conduct a detailed inquiry into the incident and stringent action will be taken against the guilty.”

Police chief Alok Kumar told PTI the fire began after a cylinder blast. Local BJP MLA Michael Lobo said, "All the 23 bodies have been recovered from the premises and sent to the government medical college at Bambolim." He said firefighting teams and police personnel were on the scene through the night. 

Lobo said authorities will now conduct a comprehensive fire safety audit of all clubs to prevent such tragedies. He added that the Calangute panchayat will issue notices on Monday to all nightclubs, seeking updated fire safety permissions, and that licences of establishments lacking mandatory clearances will be cancelled.

The nightclub, located around 25 km from Panaji, opened last year and has been a popular venue for tourists and locals. Fire and police units responded quickly, but officials said the dense smoke, combined with the apparent absence of adequate fire exits or functioning alarms, contributed to the scale of the casualties.