Panaji: A deadly fire that engulfed 'Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub at Goa's Arpora in the wee hours of Sunday claimed 25 lives. Among the deceased, 20 were reportedly staff members and five tourists. All the 25 victims have been identified.
Out of five tourists, four were from Delhi and one from Karnataka, reported Hindustan Times. Three tourists who died in the inferno were from the same family. As per the report, among the staff members who lost their lives in the blaze, five were from Uttarakhand, four from Nepal, and three each from Assam and Jharkhand. Two staff members were from Maharashtra.
Here is the complete list of 25 victims:
Mohit — Jharkhand
Binod Mahto — Jharkhand
Pradeep Mahto — Jharkhand
Sumit Negi — Uttarakhand
Jitendra Singh — Uttarakhand
Surender Singh — Uttarakhand
Satish Singh — Uttarakhand
Manish Singh — Uttarakhand
Manoj Jora — Maharashtra
Dominic — Maharashtra
Sudeep — Nepal
Sabin — Nepal
Churna Bahadur Pun — Nepal
Vivek Katwal — Nepal
Rohan Singh — Uttar Pradesh
Sunil Kumar — Uttar Pradesh
Digambar Patir — Assam
Manojit Mal — Assam
Rahul Tanti — Assam
Subhash Chetri — Darjeeling, West Bengal
Anita Joshi — Delhi
Kamla Joshi — Delhi
Saroj Joshi — Delhi
Vinod Kumar — Delhi
Ishaq — Karnataka
The fire is believed to have been triggered by indoor electric firecrackers that came into contact with the wooden ceiling, dismissing earlier speculation of a cylinder blast. Preliminary reports confirm that over 20 victims died primarily due to suffocation after becoming trapped in the unventilated basement area, with only three succumbing to burn injuries.
Goa Police have arrested four staff members — the Chief General Manager, Gate Manager, Bar Manager, and General Manager — charging them with culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Two other properties of the hospitality company in Goa have been sealed, they said.
A state police team also left for Delhi on Sunday to search for the property promoters — Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra — against whom a First Information Report (FIR) has been registered, reported PTI.
The North Goa district administration has reportedly sealed a beach shack and another club, both part of the Romeo Lane chain, located at Vagator and Assagao, respectively.
