Photo: Screenshot from ndtv.com

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday expressed deep sorrow on social media over the nightclub fire that has killed at least 25 people in Arpora, in the Indian resort state of Goa on December 6 local time. 

“The fire mishap in Arpora, Goa is deeply saddening. My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones. May the injured recover at the earliest,” Modi wrote on X, noting that he “Spoke to Goa CM Dr. Pramod Sawant Ji about the situation. The State Government is providing all possible assistance to those affected.”

At least 25 people were killed and 50 were injured after a fire tore through a popular nightclub in North Goa’s Arpora village late Saturday night, the Times of India reported on Sunday. 

Most of the victims were the club’s kitchen staff, including three women, Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant said, adding that there were “three to four tourists” were also among the dead, according to The Hindu. 

Preliminary investigation indicate that the blaze was triggered by a cylinder blast inside the nightclub Birch by Romeo Lane, which opened last year and is located about 25 kilometers from the state capital Panaji, Times of India reported, citing an interview with Goa police chief Alok Kumar. 

Sawant, who visited the site shortly after the fire was brought under control, said that while three people died of burn injuries, the remaining victims appeared to have succumbed to suffocation, according to the Times of India. 

Global Times