A fire overnight on Saturday at a popular club in Goa, a state in India, resulted in the deaths of at least 25 people, including a few tourists, according to local officials.
Three people overall appear to have died from burns, with the rest dying from suffocation. Six other people remain in stable condition at the hospital, according to the BBC.
Newsweek reached out to the Department of Information and Publicity for the State of Goa by email on Sunday morning for comment.
Why It Matters
Nightclub fires can prove incredibly deadly due to the high occupancy and attendance. A fire at a nightclub in North Macedonia earlier this year killed 59 people and injured 155 others, and a fire at a Russian nightclub in 2022 killed 15 people after someone fired a flare gun during a dispute.
India has a population of over 1.4 billion, accounting for nearly 18 percent of the global population and overtaking China as the most populated country on Earth. Regulations are poorly enforced in India where some public sector officials cut corners, leading to safety hazards.
Goa is a small state located on the coast the Arabian Sea in India’s southwest region and is wedged between the states of Karnataka and Maharashtra. The state is one of the smallest in the country, but it remains a popular destination due to its thriving nightlife, sandy beaches, and resorts.
What To Know
The fire broke out overnight Saturday at the Birth nightclub, with police speculating that a gas cylinder in the kitchen exploded, with the fire concentrated around the kitchen area on the ground floor.
The venue had been packed as people gathered to hear a Bollywood DJ, according to the BBC.
“Today is a very painful day for all of us in Goa,” Goa’s Chief Minister Pramod Sawant told reporters on Sunday. “I visited the incident site and have ordered an inquiry into this incident,. Those found responsible will face most stringent action under the law – any negligence will be dealt with firmly.”
Sawant revealed that three or four of the dead were tourists, who remain thus far unidentified as the process is ongoing, The Guardian reported, saying that “some guests also seem to have rushed towards the basement and got trapped.”
The BBC reported that the tourists may have been four people from Delhi.
However, most of those killed by the fire were staff members working the basement who “were effectively trapped because it lacked an exit and was engulfed in smoke,” with most of them dying of suffocation.
Photos of the aftermath inside the club show that the fire grew so hot that it appeared to melt chairs and tables.
The venue had a narrow entry and exit that limited access for fire fighters, who had to park their tankers around 1,300 feet away from the fire, the Press Trust of India reported.
What Happens Next
The state government has ordered an inquiry into the incident to determine final cause of the fire and whether safety norms and building regulations had been followed.
This article includes reporting by The Associated Press.
Update 12/7/25, 11:53 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.