Two exits and a demolition order never carried out: why did 25 people die in a Goa nightclub?

Nearly 100 tourists were on the first-floor dance floor when the fire started, witnesses said. Several people ran down to the kitchen below and were trapped there with the staff, the Associated Press reported via NBC News. "We rushed out of the club only to see that the entire structure was up in flames," Fatima Shaikh said, as relayed by the Press Trust of India.

The fire broke out around 11:45 pm on Saturday, 6 December 2025, during a fully booked weekend event at Birch by Romeo Lane in Arpora, North Goa, The Goan reported. By the time it was out, 25 people were dead.

Most of the dead were not guests but people working that night. What happened in Arpora is not only a local tragedy. It is a case study in how a venue that officials had already flagged kept operating until the night it burned.

What happened inside the club?

The club was a ground-plus-one building made largely of wood, with a thatched roof, according to The Goan. It had only two exit points and no dedicated emergency exit.

Many people rushed towards the ground-floor kitchen, became disoriented in the smoke and died of asphyxiation, The Goan reported. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said three victims died of burns and the others of suffocation, Al Jazeera reported.

Firefighters struggled to reach the building. The club's narrow entry and exit forced them to park their tankers about 1,300 feet (some 400 metres) away, according to the AP.

Who were the dead?

Police said 14 of the 25 dead were staff, four were tourists and seven had yet to be identified, The Goan reported. Sawant said most were kitchen workers (AP). Two brothers from Jharkhand were among the dead, and at least three of the victims were women, according to The Goan and Al Jazeera.

What started the fire?

Two explanations were reported in the first days. The Press Trust of India, citing local police, said a gas cylinder exploded; a security guard told ANI: "We later learned that the fire broke out after a cylinder blast" (Al Jazeera).

The Goan reported instead that internal fireworks set the upper floor alight. In a related report, it said police had called the fire a "man-made disaster", alleging that the club operated without licences, lacked mandatory safety infrastructure and staged a hazardous fire show. Four senior managers were arrested.

Why was the club still open?

Sawant said the club had violated fire safety regulations, the AP reported. A village council official, Roshan Redkar, said authorities had issued a demolition notice because the club lacked a construction permit, but higher officials rolled the order back. According to The Goan, the local panchayat had ordered the demolition in March.

Police also said the club's panchayat licence had expired and was not renewed, and that it was operating without valid permission, IANS reported via The News Minute. "This is not just an accident; it is a criminal failure of safety and governance," said Rahul Gandhi, the Congress leader (AP).

Where were the owners?

The prosecution said the club's owners, Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, booked flights around 1:15 am, shortly after the fire, and left for Thailand at 5 am on 7 December, which police called an attempt to evade arrest (IANS). A Delhi court rejected their anticipatory bail on 11 December. Thai authorities detained them on an Interpol Blue Corner Notice, and on 16 December they were deported to Delhi, where Goa Police were to take them into custody.

A magisterial inquiry ordered by Sawant had summoned more than 100 people and recorded at least 20 statements by then, according to IANS. "I have ordered a magisterial inquiry into the entire incident to identify the cause and fix responsibility," Sawant had said (Al Jazeera).

What we do not know

• The cause. Early police information pointed to a gas cylinder; later reporting and police allegations pointed to fireworks and a fire show. We have not seen the inquiry's findings.
• How many were injured. The AP and The Goan reported six; Al Jazeera, citing The Times of India, reported 50.
• Who the seven unidentified victims were, as of The Goan's report of 8 December 2025.
• What charges will be brought, and against whom. The reports we read list arrests and police claims, not formal charges or a court outcome.

What to watch

The families of the dead are entitled to ₹2 lakh each from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund and ₹5 lakh from the state government, with ₹50,000 for the injured, The Goan reported. Authorities said they would act not only against the club's management but also against the officials who allowed it to operate despite the violations (AP). Whether that second promise is kept, and whether the inquiry explains why a demolition order was rolled back, will decide whether Arpora changes how Goa licenses its clubs.

Sources

• Al Jazeera: Nightclub fire in India's Goa kills 25, including four tourists (6 December 2025)
• NBC News / Associated Press: A fire at a popular nightclub in India's Goa state kills 25 (7 December 2025)
• The Goan: Midnight horror in Arpora, 25 dead as massive fire rips through nightclub (8 December 2025)
• The News Minute / IANS: Goa nightclub fire case, Luthra brothers deported from Thailand (16 December 2025)