No Christmas homecoming: Families mourn victims of Goa nightclub fire

A son planning to return home for Christmas, two brothers with weddings scheduled early next year, a family visiting a tourist hotspot for the first time, and a young man on holiday with friends.

These were some of the victims of the fire that broke out at a popular nightclub in India’s coastal state of Goa in the early hours of Sunday, killing 25 people.

They were mostly staff – migrant workers who came to Goa seeking better lives – while five were tourists.

Millions of tourists visit Goa, drawn by its beaches, local food, nightlife and resorts. Birch By Romeo Lane, the club where the brothers worked, was located near a popular beach and was packed with revellers when the fire broke out.

At least four people have been arrested so far, including the nightclub’s manager, and police are searching for the owner.

As state authorities investigate the cause of the fire and whether rules were flouted, victims’ families are struggling to come to terms with their loss.

Brothers Binod and Pradip Mahto moved from Ranchi in Jharkhand state, to Goa earlier this year due to scarce job opportunities and soon worked as cooks at the Birch nightclub, sending money home.

They were supposed to get married early next year, their elder brother Fagu Mahto told the BBC. The family was rebuilding their mud house into a concrete structure.

Instead, two coffins carrying the brothers’ bodies reached their house on Monday.

Mr Mahto says that he last spoke to Binod and Pradip on a video call on Saturday evening.

“They asked me to get the house built before Holi [a festival usually celebrated in March] so that it would be ready in time for the weddings,” he said.

In Jharkhand’s Khunti district, 52-year-old Phulo Mundain was waiting eagerly for her son Mohit, 22, to visit home for Christmas.

Mohit had gone to Goa last year and was working as a waiter in the nightclub.

“Our financial situation was improving because of his earnings. Mohit used to say that he would build a house in a year,” Ms Mundain said.

Families in other states shared similar stories.

The news of the death of Satish Rana, 27, has plunged his village in Uttarakhand into mourning.

His father, Surendra Rana, said that Satish had moved to Goa for work just two months ago. His parents, younger brother and elderly grandmother are still in shock.

In Karnataka state, MD Hussain was too distraught to speak, as the body of his 25-year-old son Ishaq arrived at the airport in Bengaluru city.

His relative, who did not want to be identified, told the BBC that Ishaq was a data scientist who had gone to Goa with five friends. “From what we understand, he died in the crush that took place after the fire broke out.”

Apart from Ishaq, the other four tourists who died were family members from capital Delhi – a man and three of his sisters-in-law.

“They were all very excited for the trip,” family friend Harish Singh told reporters, adding that it was their first trip to Goa.

The only survivor from the group was the man’s wife, Bhavna. They had gone to the nightclub for dinner and were about to leave when the fire broke out, Mr Singh told media.

With reporting from Mohammad Sartaj Alam in Jharkhand, Imran Qureshi in Karnataka and Nitin Ramola in Uttarakhand.

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