Not A Cylinder Blast But Fireworks? What Eyewitnesses Said About Goa Nightclub Tragedy

At least 25 people were killed at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub, a popular party venue at Goa's Arpora village on Saturday after a fire broke out. While the state police said the blaze occurred at the nightclub due to a cylinder blast after midnight on Sunday, some of the eyewitnesses claimed the fire started on the club's first floor, where tourists were dancing.A tourist who survived the tragedy claimed that fireworks were set off when dancers were performing, and it was the likely cause. At least 100 persons were on the dance floor of a nightclub in North Goa when a fire broke out there, and in an attempt to escape, some of them ran downstairs to its kitchen where they got trapped along with the staff, according to an eyewitness."There was a sudden

commotion as the flames started erupting. We rushed out of the club only to see that the entire structure was up in flames," Fatima Shaikh, a tourist from Hyderabad, told PTI at Arpora in the wee hours of Sunday.Shaikh said that after the blaze erupted, some of the tourists started running downstairs and, in the melee, went to the kitchen located on the ground floor. "They (tourists) got trapped there along with other staff. Many managed to run out of the club," she added.In no time, the entire club was engulfed in the fire. "There was a temporary construction made up of palm leaves which easily caught fire," she said.

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Goa nightclub fire: What happened at Birch by Romeo Lane?

Weekend revelry turned into a horrific tragedy as a massive fire tore through a nightclub in North Goa after midnight on Sunday, claiming 25 lives and leaving six people injured. Most of the deaths were caused by suffocation, as the victims got trapped on the ground floor of Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub, located 25 km from Panaji, a fire official said.The construction was unauthorised but the demolition notice served to the club had been stayed by a higher authority, claimed a village official, as Chief Minister Pramod Sawant vowed action against officials who allowed it to operate despite the violation of safety norms, PTI reported.The deceased included four tourists and 14 staff members, while the identity of the remaining seven was yet to be established, the police said.(With PTI inputs)