In one of the capital’s worst disasters in decades, about 400 people, mostly young adults, stampeded for the only available exit, as the club in the basement of a Communist-era sport-shoe factory filled with smoke. Fireworks being used by the band set fire to flammable foam inside the club.
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The death toll from a nightclub fire in Romania has risen to 36 people, police in central Bucharest tell CNN.
The names of 17 of the deceased victims and five of those injured remain unknown as many were not carrying identification.
Many of those being treated in hospitals were suffering from smoke inhalation and severe burns, Arafat said.
About 20 clubs in Bucharest announced they were canceling Halloween parties scheduled for Saturday evening out of respect for the victims of the fire while one club said it would donate the evening’s takings to the victims of the fire.
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said he was “shocked and deeply saddened” by the news.
An official inquiry into the fire’s cause is under way, and Agerpres reports that prosecutors in Bucharest are also investigating, citing sources that refer to possible criminal charges of manslaughter and willful destruction.
“I just don’t get it. People think this isn’t going to happen to them”, said Dave Kane of Johnston, Rhode Island, whose 18-year-old son Nicholas O’Neill perished in the Station fire.
A dozen ambulances rushed to the club, but were unable to handle the number of victims, and many were forced to take themselves to the hospital in cars or taxis. “It was total chaos, people were trampled”, Victor Ionescu, a witness, told local media.
Numerous injured were in critical condition at 12 hospitals, authorities said.
According to USA Today, one attendee described the ensuing events on her Facebook page: “In 30 seconds… the fire spread all over the ceiling. It is a very sad day for all of us, for our nation and for me personally”.
The band had promised to give fans a “memorable show” featuring a pyrotechnic display.
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Witnesses say pyrotechnics sparked a fire that quickly became a widespread blaze with dark, blinding smoke.
