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Birch by Romeo Lane Goa tragedy: Goa nightclub didn't follow safety norms; firefighters were left stranded
Fire at Birch by Romeo Lane Goa: The nightclub in North Goa where a devastating fire broke out late at Sunday night did not follow the safety norms, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said. The fire brigades could not enter the club due to the narrow lanes and their tankers had to be parked about away from the venue, making it difficult for the firemen to douse the blaze.
A deadly fire ripped through a popular nightclub in Goa and killed at least 25 people on late Sunday night. The fire broke out at Birch By Romeo Lane nightclub in Arpora, Goa, shortly after midnight on Sunday. Initial reports suggest a cylinder blast triggered the blaze, with most victims, including staff and some tourists, succumbing to suffocation in the smoke-filled basement.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who rushed to the spot after the incident, told reporters that the nightclub had not followed the fire safety norms. The chief minister said most of the people who were killed in the deadly fire were the club's kitchen workers, and included three women. There were “three to four tourists” among those killed, he added.
Fire at Birch by Romeo Lane Goa: Key points
-At least 25 people have been killed after a fire broke out at Birch By Romeo Lane in Arpora, Goa, shortly after midnight on Sunday. The Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub is a popular party venue at Arpora village, located 25 km from the state capital Panaji, police said.-An eyewitness told PTI at least 100 people were on the dance floor of the nightclub when the fire broke out. When the fire broke out, some of them ran downstairs to its kitchen where they got trapped along with the staff.
-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.
ALSO READ: Fire at Birch by Romeo Lane in Goa kills 25: How a cylinder blast sparked the deadly inferno and left staffers trapped and suffocated
-"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.
-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 told PTI, adding that many tourists got trapped there along with other staff.
-The nightclub is situated in the backwaters of the Arpora river and has a narrow entry and exit. There was no access for the fire brigades to the club because of the narrow lanes and their tankers had to be parked about 400 metres away from the spot, PTI reported.
-A senior officer from the Fire and Emergency Services told PTI that the narrow access made it difficult to reach the spot, which in turn made controlling the blaze a challenging task. He said that the majority of the deaths were caused by suffocation, as the victims remained trapped on the ground floor.
ALSO READ: Goa fire incident: At least 25 dead in cylinder blast at Arpora nightclub; CM orders detailed probe
-Pramod Sawant said the nightclub had not followed the fire safety norms and has ordered an investigation. The Chief Minister said action would be initiated against the club management and the authorities who allowed the establishment to function.
-Arpora-Nagoa panchayat sarpanch Roshan Redkar said the club was run by Saurav Luthra, who had a dispute with his partner. “There was a dispute between them and they had filed a complaint against each other with the panchayat. We had inspected the premises and found that they did not have the permission to construct the club,” he said.
-Calangute MLA Michael Lobo, who also visited the site after the incident, said the local panchayats will conduct a fire safety audit of all the nightclubs to ensure such an incident does not recur. The Calangute panchayat will issue notices to all the nightclubs on Monday, asking them to provide fire safety permissions, the MLA said, adding that licenses of clubs not having the necessary permissions will be cancelled.
(With PTI inputs)
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Source: EconomicTimes
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