- By Soumyaroop Mukherjee
- Mon, 08 Dec 2025 11:23 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Goa Club Fire: A day after a deadly fire ripped through the popular club, Birch by Romeo Lane in Arpora, Goa, which claimed the lives of 25 people and injured six more, club owner Saurabh Luthra has finally broken his silence on the matter.
In what was his first public statement since the deadly fire that broke out in his club, 'Romeo by Birch Lane', Luthra said that the management was 'deeply shaken' by the scale of the loss. "The management expresses profound grief and is deeply shaken by the tragic loss of lives resulting from the unfortunate incident at Birch," he said on his official Instagram handle.
Source: Official Instagram Handle Of Saurabh Luthra
The owner called the moment as an ‘irreparable sorrow and overwhelming distress’ and said that the nightclub stands ‘in unwavering solidarity with the families of the deceased as well as those injured’ and conveyed condolences ‘with utmost sincerity.’
Luthra further said that management will extend full cooperation to the families of the deceased and all those affected by the fire. "The management further affirms that it shall extend every possible form of assistance, support and cooperation to the bereaved and affected individuals, as they navigate through this period of immense anguish and adversity."
The incident took place in the intervening night of December 5-6, when the club was hosting a ‘Bollywood Banger Night’. Viral visuals from inside the club showed a dancer to the beats of Sholay’s iconic ‘Mehbooba Mehbooba’ when the first shimmers of the flame appeared on the ceiling, which were triggered from fireworks that went off inside the nightclub to spice up the party.
'Birch By Romeo Lane' is located near the backwaters of the Arpora River and has a narrow entry and exit. The nightclub promotes itself as an "island club" and is connected to the main road through narrow lanes.
According to firefighters who had reached the spot, the narrow lanes proved to be the biggest hindrance for the fire engines, which resulted in the fire tenders being parked about 400 metres away, thereby slowing down the rescue efforts. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that such an incident had happened for the first time in Goa.
"From my preliminary inquiry, it appears the fire started on the upper floor. Because the doors were very congested, some people managed to escape, but once the fire intensified, others could not get out. Many who moved towards the underground area died due to suffocation because there was no proper ventilation," he added.