Goa nightclub video shows tiny glow growing into fiery blaze in seconds amid live performance

AS details continue to emerge about the Goa nightclub fire that killed at least 25, a video has surfaced on social media purportedly showing the fire catching on before people start moving away.

In the video recorded by a member of the audience, a dancer is seen dancing to R D Burman's Mehbooba Mehbooba, played by an accompanying band, as a tiny orange glow in the roof (top left) starts spreading.

That orange glow quickly spreads and develops into a blaze, engulfing part of the room filling it with smoke.

By this time, people in the room can be heard yelling "aag lag gayi [a fire has broken out]," and realising the danger, both performers and members of the audience rush out and the video ends.

The scary video on social media comes hours after a fire broke out at Birch by Romeo Lane in North Goa's Aprora early on Sunday, killing at least 25, including tourists and 14 staff members, raising serious questions about the flouting of fire safety norms.

Most of the deaths were caused by suffocation, as the victims got trapped inside the burning building, fire officials were quoted as saying by PTI.

Six more, meanwhile, were injured.

Police said they received a call regarding the fire at around 12.04 am on Sunday.

How did the fire start?

While police earlier in the day said that a cylinder blast seemed to have started the deadly blaze, an eyewitness who survived later told PTI that firecrackers were being burst all around when the dancers started performing.

"The fire must have been caused due to this. There was a stampede-like situation," Riya, a tourist from Delhi, was quoted as saying by the news agency.

At least 100 people were on the dance floor, and in a rush to escape, many of them ran downstairs into the kitchen, where they got trapped with staff, another tourist, Fatima Shaikh from Hyderabad, said to PTI.

"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," she was quoted as saying.

"There was a temporary construction made up of palm leaves which easily caught fire,” Shaikh added.
What have authorities said?

As news of the tragedy broke, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant vowed action against officials who allowed the club to operate despite flouting safety rules.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and several other leaders have expressed their shock and grief at the tragedy.

Meanwhile, an FIR has been registered against the club's owners.

Amid all this, a village official has claimed that the structure itself was illegal, and was run by one Saurabh Luthra.

Arpora-Nagoa panchayat sarpanch Roshan Redkar told PTI earlier in the day that Luthra had a dispute with his partner. "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 had said.

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