India nightclub fire kills 25 in Goa, including 4 tourists

A fire tore through a nightclub in the tourist hotspot of Goa, killing 25 people, the state’s chief minister said on Sunday.

Tourists were among those who died in the blaze, which erupted around midnight at Birch by Romeo Lane at Baga in Arpora in the northern part of the coastal state.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the deaths as “deeply saddening” in a statement.

Goa, a former Portuguese colony on the Arabian Sea, draws millions of visitors annually for its vibrant nightlife, sandy beaches and relaxed coastal vibe.

“Today is a very painful day for all of us,” Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said in a statement, adding that 25 people had lost their lives and six were injured.

Mr Sawant told reporters that three to four tourists had died, without specifying their nationalities.

“I have ordered a magisterial inquiry into the entire incident to identify the cause and fix responsibility,” he added.

Video footage from the Press Trust of India showed rescuers carrying the injured or dead on stretchers down the narrow stone staircase of the Birch nightclub.

Most people died from suffocation in the basement and kitchen area, Goa Fire Chief Nitin V Raiker told CNN-News18.

“I received information that there was a club party going on, and a fire show was organised in the club. The wooden parts of the club caught fire, and smoke spread throughout the building.”

Fires are frequent in India owing to substandard building practices, overcrowding and lax enforcement of safety norms.

In May, at least 17 people died in a blaze that gutted a three-storey building in the southern city of Hyderabad.

A month earlier, a hotel fire in Kolkata claimed at least 15 lives, with some people escaping through windows and onto the rooftop.

Last year, at least 24 people perished in a fire at a crowded amusement park arcade in the western state of Gujarat.