At least 23 persons were killed in a massive blaze that erupted at a nightclub in North Goa following a cylinder blast late Saturday night. Most of the dead were the kitchen workers, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said.
The fire broke out after midnight at a popular party venue Birch by Romeo Lane, located at Arpora village, around 25 km from the state capital Panaji. It opened last year.
#WATCH | Goa | Aftermath of the fire that broke out at a restaurant in North Goa’s Arpora, claiming the lives of 23 people. pic.twitter.com/v6qleY5WJX
— ANI (@ANI) December 7, 2025
CM Sawant rushed to the spot after the fire broke out. He told reporters that the deceased included three women and “three to four tourists”. He said most of the victims died due to suffocation while three succumbed to burn injuries.
“This is an unfortunate incident during the peak tourist season in the coastal state,” Sawant said. “We will take action against the club management and also against the officials who allowed it to operate despite flouting safety norms.”
“We will conduct a detailed inquiry into the incident and stringent action will be taken against the guilty,” the chief minister added.
Goa police chief Alok Kumar confirmed that the fire erupted due to a cylinder blast at the club.
Meanwhile, BJP MLA Michael Lobo said that all the 23 bodies have been recoveredand sent to the government medical college at Bambolim. Firefighters and police teams rushed to the spot immediately and were engaged in rescue efforts through the night, Lobo added.
He further said that a fire safety audit of all the clubs will be conducted to ensure that such incidents do not happen again in future.
The Calangute panchayat will be issuing notices to all the nightclubs on Monday asking them to provide fire safety permissions, the MLA said, adding that licenses of clubs not having necessary permissions will be cancelled, PTI reported.