At least 23 people have been killed in a fire at a popular nightclub in the Indian resort city of Goa.

Several tourists were among the dead after a blaze broke at the Birch club in Arpora in the North Goa district at around midnight on Saturday.

The fire has since been brought under control and all bodies have been recovered after rescue operations stretched into the early hours of Sunday morning.

While the source and cause of the inferno are yet to be ascertained, it is suspected to have been started by a gas cylinder blast, local media reported quoting police officials.

‘Today is a very painful day for all of us in Goa. A major fire incident at Arpora has taken the lives of 23 people,’ chief minister Pramod Sawant wrote on X.

‘I visited the incident site and have ordered an inquiry into this incident,’ he said, adding: ‘Those found responsible will face most stringent action under the law – any negligence will be dealt with firmly.’

Sawant told journalists at the scene that ‘three to four’ tourists had died. Three people died from burn injuries, while the others died from suffocation, he said.

Goa’s director general of police Alok Kumar added that most of the bodies were found in the kitchen area, ‘suggesting that the victims were employed at the club’.

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A fire at the Birch club in Arpora in the North Goa district broke out at around midnight on Saturday

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Huge plumes of smoke can be seen rising from the blaze, which claimed the lives of least 23 people

‘So far, 23 casualties have been reported. The fire occurred around midnight. It has now been brought under control,’ Mr Kumar told the Indian Express.

‘The fire was mainly concentrated around the kitchen area on the ground floor. The source and cause of the fire are yet to be ascertained.

‘Teams are engaged in rescue and evacuation. Maximum bodies were retrieved from the kitchen area, suggesting that the victims were employed at the club. Two bodies have been found on the staircase.’

Goa, a former Portuguese colony on the shores of the Arabian Sea, lures millions of tourists every year with its nightlife, sandy beaches and laid-back coastal atmosphere.

About 5.5 million tourists visited Goa in the first half of the year, as per government data. Of these 271,000 were international tourists.