Eyewitnesses told HT that the Goa nightclub fire spread within minutes, trapping several people inside the 300 square metres club.

A deadly mix of illegal pyrotechnics, a highly flammable thatched roof, and glaring safety violations on storing alcohol may have caused the catastrophic fire that killed 25 people at Birch by Romeo Lane in Goa’s Arpora on Saturday night, according to investigators and eyewitnesses.

The findings come even as Delhi-based entrepreneurs Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, co-promoters of the club, were detained in Thailand early Thursday - five days after they fled India barely 90 minutes after the blaze began.

Chief minister Pramod Sawant confirmed that a joint investigation team from Goa Police and the CBI will soon travel to Thailand to bring the brothers back to

See Full Page