At least 23 people have died in a fire at a popular nightclub in the coastal region of Goa, India, local officials said.
Most of the victims are believed to have been employees of the club in Arpora, north Goa, although tourists were also among the dead.
Police believe a gas cylinder exploded in the club’s kitchen, causing a fire to engulf the venue at midnight local time on Saturday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the Goa fire “deeply sad” in a social media post.
“The fire was mainly concentrated around the kitchen area on the ground floor,” said Alok Kumar, director general of Goa police.
“The fire broke out around midnight and has now been brought under control.”
Most of the bodies were found around the kitchen, “suggesting that the victims worked at the club,” Alok Kumar added.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant told reporters that three people died of burns, while others died of suffocation.
He said “between three and four” tourists had died, but did not provide their ages or nationalities.
The Indian Express reports that the fire broke out at a club called Birch off Romeo Lane in Baga, located on one of the most popular beaches in the coastal region.
The area where the fire occurred is full of similar nightlife spots, where tourists and partiers can be seen leaving the bustling clubs.
A chef who works at a nearby establishment told the BBC that he knew some of the workers at the Birch club.
“People from all over the country and also from Nepal work in different clubs in Goa,” he said.
“I’m really worried about some people I met at the club. Their phones are off.”
Rescue efforts continued in the early hours of Sunday morning. Crews were sifting through the charred remains to determine the cause of the fire.
One of the firefighters at the scene told the BBC that they are still identifying the victims and will then notify their families.
A formal investigation into the cause of the fire has been launched, the prime minister said.
“Those responsible will face the strictest measures under the law; any negligence will be dealt with firmly,” Dr Sawant said.
“I am deeply saddened and offer my deepest condolences to all the bereaved families at this time of unimaginable loss.”
Goa is a former Portuguese colony on the Arabian Sea. Its nightlife, sandy beaches and resorts attract millions of tourists every year.
About 5.5 million tourists visited Goa in the first half of the year, government data showed, and 270,000 did so from abroad.
India has suffered a series of deadly fires at entertainment venues in recent years.
A fire in a three-story building killed 17 people in the southern city of Hyderabad in May, while a fire in a hotel in northeast Kolkata left 15 dead a month earlier.
Last year, 24 people died in the gallery of an amusement park in the western state of Gujarat after visitors were trapped inside due to the collapse of a temporary structure at the entrance. An official review later found that poor safety standards contributed to a higher number of deaths.
