At least 25 people, including three women and four tourists, lost their lives following a cylinder blast that triggered a massive fire at the Birch By Romeo Lane nightclub in North Goa's Arpora village on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday. The incident triggered panic among the locals, who later rushed to the spot to help the officials in the rescue operation.
Sanjay Kumar Gupta, who works as a security guard at the nightclub, said the incident happened between 11 am and 12 am, pointing out it was 'really crowded' when the blast took place. "Suddenly, there was a fire... I was at the gate... A DJ, dancer was going to come here, and it was about to get really crowded," he told news agency ANI.
A man, who works as a security guard near the Birch By Romeo Lane nightclub, said he first thought it was a tyre burst but later realised that a cylinder blast has taken place. "We could see people. We heard a massive explosion. We first thought it was a tyre burst, but later learned that the fire broke out after a cylinder blast... I have been working here for the past eight to nine years," he told ANI.
A local, who was heading home, said he initially heard an explosion but didn't take it seriously. However, he later saw that ambulances had rushed to the spot. "When I was heading home, I heard an explosion. Later, we saw ambulances arriving at the spot. When we reached the location, we saw that the incident had already occurred," he told ANI.
BJP MLA calls for safety audit of all clubs
With 25 people losing their lives in the incident, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Michael Lobo has called for a safety audit of all nightclubs in the state. Speaking to ANI, Lobo also pointed out that most of the victims lost their lives due to suffocation as "they ran towards the basement".
"We will need to conduct a safety audit of all other clubs in Goa, which is very important. Tourists have always considered Goa a very safe destination, but the fire incident is very disturbing, and such incidents should not happen in the future. The safety of tourists and the workers in these establishments is extremely important," he said.
The police have launched a probe and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has said that strict action will be taken against those responsible for the incident. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with Sawant, assuring him of all the assistance from the Centre.
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