Goa Nightclub Fire: A Look at India’s Deadliest Fires in the Last 5 Years

India

oi-Ashish Rana

At
least
25
people
lost
their
lives
after
a
massive
blaze
tore
through
Birch
by
Romeo
Lane,
a
popular
nightclub
in
Goa’s
Arpora,
on
Sunday.

Officials
said
a
preliminary
probe
indicates
the
fire
may
have
been
triggered
by
a
gas
cylinder
blast.
The
toll,
initially
reported
as
23,
later
rose
to
25
as
rescue
teams
completed
their
search
of
the
gutted
premises.

Confusion
Over
Cause
of
Blaze

As
investigators
begin
piecing
together
the
events
that
led
to
the
tragedy,
major
questions
remain
unanswered
about
how
an
allegedly
illegal
venue
continued
to
operate
despite
reported
safety
violations.
Goa
police
chief
Alok
Kumar
told
PTI
that
the
fire
occurred
due
to
a
cylinder
blast.
Several
eyewitnesses,
however,
challenge
this
version
and
claim
the
blaze
erupted
on
the
first
floor,
where
about
100
tourists
were
dancing
at
the
time.

The
club’s
structural
layout
is
believed
to
have
worsened
the
situation.
With
a
narrow
entry
and
exit
and
a
location
deep
within
the
backwaters,
the
flow
of
escaping
crowds
quickly
turned
chaotic.
A
senior
firefighter
told
PTI
that
the
narrow
access
path
“made
it
difficult
to
reach
the
spot,
which
in
turn
made
controlling
the
blaze
a
challenging
task.” Officials
confirmed
that
most
deaths
were
caused
by
suffocation.

Pattern
of
Deadly
Fires
Across
India

The
Goa
tragedy
joins
a
troubling
list
of
severe
fire
incidents
India
has
witnessed
between
2020
and
2025.
Many
of
these
cases
reveal
recurring
lapses
in
fire
safety
compliance,
especially
in
commercial
establishments,
crowded
urban
zones
and
travel
environments.

During
this
period,
India
saw
deadly
bus
fires,
major
residential
building
fires
and
large
scale
commercial
structure
accidents
that
exposed
prolonged
gaps
in
safety
checks,
emergency
access
planning
and
enforcement
of
basic
safety
norms.

Major
Fire
Incidents
From
2020
to
2025

Buldhana
Bus
Fire,
Maharashtra
(July
2023)

A
private
bus
caught
fire
on
the
Nagpur
to
Mumbai
Expressway,
killing
25
passengers
and
injuring
eight.

Kurnool
Bus
Fire,
Andhra
Pradesh
(October
2025)

A
luxury
bus
went
up
in
flames
near
Chinnatekuru,
resulting
in
the
deaths
of
19
people.

Hyderabad
Building
Fire
(May
2025)

A
blaze
during
a
family
gathering
in
Gulzar
Houz
killed
17
individuals,
including
children.

West
Delhi
Commercial
Building
Fire
(2022)

A
four
storey
commercial
building
caught
fire,
killing
27
occupants.

Dharavi
Cylinder
Blast,
Mumbai
(2021)

A
gas
cylinder
leak
led
to
a
fire
that
injured
17
people
in
a
densely
populated
locality.

Kolkata
Hotel
Fire
(2023)

A
hotel
blaze
resulted
in
15
fatalities.

Rajkot
Amusement
Park
Fire
(2024)

A
catastrophic
fire
at
an
amusement
park
killed
32
people,
including
nine
children.

Goa
Nightclub
Fire,
Arpora
(2025)

The
latest
nightclub
tragedy
claimed
25
lives,
once
again
highlighting
the
need
for
stringent
enforcement
of
safety
regulations
in
entertainment
venues.