On the late Saturday night at night club in the Arpora area of Goa, the fire broke out in the night club named as Birch by Romeo Lane killing 25 and injuring six others. The earliest investigations indicate that the fire was started in the dance floor.
Approximately, 100 individuals were in the club when the incident occurred because of a dance known as Bollywood Banger Night. Some video footage of the incident has been released where a belly dancer is performing to the song, Mehbooba O Mehbooba.
At the concert, there were mass falls of huge glass fragments of the roof of the club on the dance floor. In a few seconds, enormous flames were seen. The guests began to panic and the dancer suspended his performance at once.
Investigations also established that the fire brigade was unable to access the club because of very narrow entrance routes. The sarpanch (village head) of Arpora-Nagoa said that the club was operating without authorization or permission and there was a note to demolish it earlier.
Limited Entry accesses Late Rescue.
The club calls itself an island club and is constructed on the backwaters of the Arpora River. Both exits and entrances were also said to have been very small, which meant that the fire engines could not get into the premises. Fire vehicles were compelled to park almost 400 meters, and this led to a long delay in rescue missions.
According to the officials, the majority of the victims died of smoke inhalation and suffocation, but not burns. One of the club managers is arrested and the cause of the fire is also under investigation.
Severe Safety Standards Dissatisfaction.
The tragedy has created significant issues about construction of the club, safety measures, and fire compliance measures. Arpora-Nagoa sarpanch Roshan Redkar admitted that the club was controversial since long.
After the owners engaged in quarrels, the village panchayat carried out an inspection and discovered that the construction of the club was unofficially done. An order of demolition was made yet they allegedly took longer because of the political influence of the owners.
Eyewitness Account
Eyewitness Fatima Shaikh reported that the fire broke out resulting into a stampede. They began dancing about 100 people when they saw that there was smoke and flames. Most of them became panicked and rushed to the exits only to find themselves at the kitchen on the ground floor where workers were already trapped.
She explained:
The way out was very small and thus they could not come out easily. In several minutes, the whole club was burning down. The palm leaf decorations burst into flames immediately. Others were able to run off, yet others were confined within.
Victims Identified
As Goa Police announced, 25 individuals were killed among them 4 tourists and 14 workers. The names of 7 victims are not known. There are six wounded people who are under medical care. A formal inquiry into the cause of the fire is also in progress and prosecution is being carried out.
