Goa Nightclub Fire: 14 Kitchen Staff Killed Due to Basement Location; Families Demand Compensation and Repatriation

PANAJI: The tragic fire at the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Arpora, Goa, claimed 25 lives, with 14 of the victims identified as staff members working in the main kitchen, which was fatally located in the basement with no alternate escape routes.

The victims included staff hailing from Nepal (4), Jharkhand (3), Uttarakhand (6), and Assam (1). Four other victims were tourists, and the remaining bodies are yet to be identified.

Calls for Justice and Assistance

Friends and colleagues of the deceased are urgently demanding that the government not only secure compensation but also facilitate the return of the bodies to their families in their respective home states.

Speaking outside the Goa Medical College and Hospital mortuary, Janak Pujara (from Nepal) heavily criticized the management:

• Lack of Escape Route: “The kitchen was set up in the basement underground. Most of those who perished did so because they had no escape route…”
• Management Failure: He alleged that managers and top-level staff fled without notifying kitchen staff and criticized the lack of a fire exit.
• Owner Accountability: Pujara demanded that action be taken against the owner, who is yet to reach out to the grieving friends and family, and insisted the owner must also pay compensation.

A security guard named Nandlal confirmed the loss of three men from his village in Jharkhand’s Fatehpur, including brothers Binod Mahato and Pradeep Mahato, who had only begun work weeks prior. He reiterated the plea: “We want the government to reach the bodies home and create facilities for it.”

Government Response

North Goa District Collector Ankit Yadav assured the public that the government will provide full support to the victims’ families:

“We are assuring them full support in order to help them reach the bodies home and in order that they get compensation from the SDRF [State Disaster Relief Fund], the NDRF [National Disaster Relief Fund] and other bodies.”

He confirmed that government, police, and health teams are working to fast-track the compensation and repatriation process.