The nightclub is situated in the backwaters of the Arpora river and has a narrow entry and exit. There was no access for the fire brigades to the club because of the narrow lanes and their tankers had to be parked about 400 metres away from the spot.
A senior officer from the Fire and Emergency Services told PTI that the narrow access made it difficult to reach the spot, which in turn made controlling the blaze a challenging task.
He said that the majority of the deaths were caused by suffocation, as the victims remained trapped on the ground floor CM Sawant, who visited the spot after the incident, told reporters that the nightclub had not followed the fire safety norms.
Sawant said he would order an inquiry into the incident, while action would be initiated against the club management and the authorities who allowed the establishment to function.
Arpora-Nagoa panchayat sarpanch Roshan Redkar said the club was run by Saurav Luthra, who had a dispute with his partner.
“There was a dispute between them and they had filed a complaint against each other with the panchayat. We had inspected the premises and found that they did not have the permission to construct the club,” he said.
The panchayat had issued a demolition notice, which was stayed by the officials of the Directorate of Panchayats, Redkar said.
The original owner of the premises had sublet the place to Luthra, he said.
“The fire incident that happened was unfortunate. We have been issuing notices to the establishments that are seen violating the norms. Now, we have to be more vigilant,” he said.
Calangute MLA Michael Lobo, who also visited the site after the incident, said the local panchayats will conduct a fire safety audit of all the nightclubs to ensure such an incident does not recur.
The Calangute panchayat will issue notices to all the nightclubs on Monday, asking them to provide fire safety permissions, the MLA said.
The licenses of clubs not having the necessary permissions will be cancelled, he added.
