The fire broke out at about 23:00 local time (21:00 GMT) on Friday at the Colectiv club, which was hosting a free rock concert by the band Goodbye to Gravity. During the show, which coincidentally involved a lot of pyrotechnics, something went wrong.
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“Eyewitnesses said many in the crowd believed the first moments of the fire were part of the show”.
A spark on stage ignited a few polystyrene decor, club-goers told Digi 24 television. Photos posted on social media appeared to show a flame emanating from a pillar covered in foam insulation as those in the audience applauded the band.
As the blaze spread, panic erupted among the crowd, which majorly involved teenagers. The basement club was formed after repurposing a shoe factory.
A witness to the fire described horrific scenes of people stepping on each other as they tried to escape, while others inside the club were “burning in the flames”.
Health officials said Sunday that burn specialists from Israel and Germany had arrived in Bucharest to help treat the injured, and a French team was expected Sunday night.
“There was a child with 70 percent burns”.
A few 146 people are still hospitalized around the Romanian capital. Officials expect the death toll to rise in what is the worst disaster of its kind ever in Romania.
Any open fire displays and fireworks in Romania require special authorization if used in a public indoor place. However, two victims died overnight and another on Sunday, taking the death toll to 30, reported CNN. They are now victims of the incident with guitarists Vlad Telea and Mihai Alexandru reportedly among the dead and vocalist Andrei Galut, bassist Alex Pascu and drummer Bogdan Lavinius still in hospitals.
A representative of the private company that carried out renovations inside the industrial building told the DigiTV channel that the club’s owners had sought to skimp on security measures to save money, and failed to consult the fire service. “It was a tragedy caused in a way by corruption, indifference and incompetence… and a sign that things should change in Romanian society”.
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The government on Saturday announced a three-day national mourning, from Saturday to Monday, in remembrance of the fire victims, stipulating that Romania’s flags will be half-staffed everywhere in the country, at embassies and other national institutions overseas, and half-masted on all ships flying them.
