The weekend crowd at Birch by Romeo Lane, a popular party spot in North Goa’s Arpora, had just begun to settle into the night when panic ripped through the dance floor.

At least 100 people were packed inside the club past midnight on Sunday. Minutes later, the building was on fire and 23 people were dead.

Fatima Shaikh, a tourist from Hyderabad, remembers the moment “there was a sudden commotion as the flames started erupting.” She and several others rushed out, only to find “the entire structure was up in flames.”

Shaikh said the nightclub was jam-packed and that some tourists, trying to escape in chaos, ran downstairs into the kitchen. “They (tourists) got trapped there along with other staff. Many managed to run out of the club,” she said.

According to state police, the blaze was triggered by a cylinder blast. Some eyewitnesses, however, said it began on the club’s first floor, where tourists were dancing.

A temporary structure made of palm leaves caught fire quickly, Shaikh recalled. Firefighters said the club’s narrow access slowed their response.

With the venue located along the Arpora river backwaters, fire tenders had to be parked nearly 400 metres away. A senior Fire and Emergency Services officer said most deaths were due to suffocation on the ground floor.

Chief minister Pramod Sawant confirmed that many of the dead were kitchen workers, including three women. “There were three to four tourists among those killed,” he said.

After visiting the site, the CM said the establishment had failed to follow fire safety norms. He announced an inquiry and action against the management and officials who allowed the club to operate.

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, later stayed by the Directorate of Panchayats. The original owner had sublet the premises to Luthra, Redkar added.

“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 spot, said all local nightclubs will now face a fire safety audit.

The Calangute panchayat will issue notices asking clubs to submit permissions, he said, adding that licences of those failing to comply will be cancelled.