“The only information we have is that fireworks were used in the club and after that tragedy happened, it is under investigation”, He told reporters.
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Witnesses spoke of the panic and confusion that ensued, with the lead singer of the heavy metal band initially joking about the fire before it engulfed the basement club.
Ponta made the announcement at the government meeting convened after a fire at a nightclub in downtown Bucharest late Friday killing 27 people and wounding more than 180. Adding to their anxiety was the fact that numerous clubgoers were not carrying identity papers so victims could not immediately be identified. Many people admitted to hospitals had suffered burn and smoke inhalation injuries or were trampled. He said no fire permit was requested by the club nor granted to them by the Bucharest firefighting department.
President Klaus Iohannis visited injured people Saturday at the Floreasca hospital in Bucharest and tried to comfort survivors and relatives. He also stated that investigators are inquiring whether the nightclub had the necessary fire safety permits, reports the Guardian, while 680 News reports that prosecutors are investigating potential manslaughter charges.
It is reported that two members of Goodbye To Gravity are in a critical condition following the blaze. The fire happened just after 10:30 p.m.
In 2009, another similar event killed more than 100 people in the Russian city of Perm after an indoor-fireworks display went wrong, setting light to a decorative brushwood ceiling.
Delia Tugui, a Spanish teacher who was at the concert with her husband and son, said everybody was surprised by how rapidly the fire spread.
“People were fainting, they were fainting from the smoke”.
Up to 400 people were in the Colectiv club at the time and a few remain unaccounted for. “In the next three, we rushed to a single door”, she told television station Antena 3.
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Witnesses say pyrotechnics sparked a fire that quickly became a widespread blaze with dark, blinding smoke.
