Nightclub fire death toll to rise as survivors badly injured

The number of deaths from a horrific nightclub fire and stampede in Romania is expected to rise significantly because so many of the injured have severe burns.

Three days of mourning have been declared for the victims as prime minister Victor Ponta cut short a visit to Mexico to return to Bucharest.

At least 29 people were killed, 180 people were injured in the blaze, and over 140 were still in hospital yesterday. Emergency situations official Raed Arafat told reporters it was possible the death toll could double.

Clubbers who fled the fire ended up in a panicked stampede toward the only door in the basement nightclub Colectiv in Bucharest.

Witnesses say the fire erupted after a spark on stage from a heavy metal pyrotechnics show ignited foam decor.

When the first sparks flew at a Romanian nightclub, the lead singer of Goodbye To Gravity joked that they were not part of the heavy metal band’s performance.

Moments later, flames spread quickly through the crowded basement club in Bucharest, trapping many and triggering a stampede — making it the worst nightclub blaze in Romanian history. Two of the band were among the dead, while the lead singer was one of the many treated in hospital for extensive burns.

Witnesses said about 300 to 400 people, including some children attending with their parents, were at the club, housed in a former factory, when a pyrotechnics show went awry. They said there was only one exit.

A spark on stage ignited some 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.

Hundreds of members of Bucharest’s medical community were mobilised in frantic efforts to save as many lives as possible.

Bogdan Oprita, a spokesman for the Floreasca Emergency Hospital, said it was the worst bloodshed since the 1989 anti-Communist revolution.

“It was like a war,” he said. “Dozens of surgeons were called from home and asked to operate.”

Emergency worker Violeta Maria Naca described in a Facebook post how parents were kissing ambulances carrying their children, while others were hitting the vehicles, begging to be transported to hospital.