23 perish in Goa night club blaze after cylinder blast

Panaji, Dec 7 (PTI) Altogether 23 persons were killed in a blaze at a popular night club in North Goa’s Arpora village following a cylinder blast after midnight on Saturday, police said.

The dead were mostly members of the kitchen staff, and included three women, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said, adding there were “three to four tourists” among those killed.

Sawant, who rushed to the spot, told reporters that of the 23, three succumbed to burn injuries and the others died due to suffocation.

As per initial information, the night club had not abided by fire safety norms, the CM said.

Police said the fire broke out at Birch by Romeo Lane, a popular party venue around 25 km from the state capital Panaji, which opened last year, after midnight.

“We will take action against the club management and also officials who allowed them to operate despite flouting safety norms,” Sawant said.

“This is an unfortunate incident during the peak tourist in Goa,” Sawant said. “We will conduct a detailed inquiry into the incident and stringent action will be taken against the guilty,” he added.

Goa police chief Alok Kumar told PTI that the fire occurred due to a cylinder blast.

"Altogether 23 bodies have been recovered from the premises and sent to government medical college at Bambolim,” BJP MLA Michael Lobo said.

Firefighters and police teams rushed to the spot immediately and were engaged in rescue efforts through the night, Lobo told reporters. PTI RPS NSD VT VT