Goa nightclub fire: Four out of 25 people, who lost their lives to the deadly fire at Goa’s Birch by Romeo Lane club, were from the same family in Delhi. They left for Goa on December 3 and were scheduled to return today, December 8.
Four tourists were from same family
The family members who were caught in the deadly inferno are Vinod Kumar, his sister-in-laws Anita Joshi and Saroj Joshi, and his elder brother’s wife Kamla Joshi. Vinod’s wife, Bhavana, survived and identified the bodies. As of Sunday night, inquest proceedings had been completed for Vinod and Saroj, while the post-mortems of Kamla and Anita were still pending.
According to a report by HT, Kamla, the eldest sister of Anita, Saroj and Bhavana, is survived by her husband Naveen, who is a businessman. Kamla and Naveen have two children. Vinod, per an IE report, dealt with insurance and finance.
Vinod and Bhavana have two kids – a son (10) and a daughter (5).
According to a report by The Indian Express, the neighbours gathered outside the double-storey house in North-East Delhi’s Karawal Nagar and were waiting for the bodies. A tent has been set up for visitors, and Vinod’s elderly mother was surrounded by relatives.
A neighbour told IE that the mother is not aware of the entire incident. “Nobody knows when the bodies will arrive…people have been gathering here since morning,” Anju, a neighbour, said.
Harish Singh, a family friend and neighbour, told HT that it was the group’s first trip to Goa. “I think they left home last week. They were all very excited for the trip. It was their first trip to Goa. We didn’t know this would happen.”
Rajesh Shah, another neighbour, said that Vinod’s family had migrated to Delhi from Uttarakhand a few years after his own family settled in the city in 1985. “Our families have known each other ever since. They have been good neighbours…would never get into any fight,” he added.
One woman named Sushma told IE that her husband had known Vinod since childhood. “We are all from Uttarakhand. My husband has known them since his childhood, and my mother-in-law is good friends with Vinod’s mother. This feels like a personal loss.”
She added, “When the bodies arrive, the entire lane will break down.”
What happened with the family?
HT, while quoting Harish, reported that the family had gone to the club for dinner. They had finished eating and were preparing to head out when they realised that one of the sisters was still inside as the fire began to spread.
The sisters ran back into the building to help, and Vinod followed them. Tragically, none of them were able to escape. Only Bhavana survived because she was pushed towards an exit in the chaos.
The family had initially tried to make their way out, but turned back again to help Bhavna and others, but couldn’t come out because there was a lot of smoke and chaos. The nightclub didn’t have proper exits, and everyone was pushing everyone to save their lives.
Goa nightclub fire: Arrests made, probe committee formed
Of the 25 people who lost their lives in the Goa nightclub fire, 20 were staff members from various states, including Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Assam, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. Four of the victims were Nepalese nationals, according to a list released by the state government. At least six others were injured, with five undergoing treatment.
The state government has formed a probe committee and directed it to submit a report within a week on the cause of the deadly fire. Preliminary investigations revealed that the fire was triggered by “electric firecrackers” set off inside the club at around 11:45 pm on Saturday. Earlier reports suggesting a cylinder blast were ruled out. At the time of the incident, a live performance was underway, and at least 100 people were on the dance floor. Many tried to escape, while some rushed towards the basement and succumbed to suffocation in the kitchen along with staff members.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant stated that the club’s chief general manager, Rajiv Modak, general manager Vivek Singh, bar manager Rajiv Singhania, and gate manager Riyanshu Thakur have been arrested. An FIR has also been registered against the club’s owners, Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, as well as the event organisers.
