BUCHAREST, Romania — A fire sparked by pyro effects during a performance by heavy metal band Goodbye to Gravity ignited foam decor and raced across the ceiling within the crowded Colectiv nightclub at about 10:30 p.m. Oct. 30, filling the venue with smoke and fumes. About 400 people were in the club at the time of the fire. Sixty were killed, including all but one of the band members, according to news reports.
Of the scores reported injured, many required extended hospitalization, including the band’s two surviving band members.
The free concert was staged in the basement of a Communist-era factory to promote the band’s latest album, Mantras of War. Photos from survivors show a modest spray of sparks from a truss-mounted device igniting a polystyrene pillar, with flames rising from the pillar to the ceiling and quickly racing across the ceiling.
“This wasn’t part of the program,” a band member initially joked, before he realized the seriousness of the situation and called for a fire extinguisher.
Along with burns and smoke inhalation, survivors are being treated for trampling injuries from the panicked stampede. A limited number of exits appears to be a contributor to the tragedy, with reports of only one working exit and a second that had to be forced open before people trapped inside could escape.
Among the reported dead are Goodbye to Gravity guitarists Vlad Telea, Mihai Alexandru, drummer Bogdan Lavinius and bassist Alex Pascu. Vocalist Andrei Galut sustained burns on on 45% of his body and also his respiratory tract; he had to be tracheostomized.
Romania declared a three-day period of mourning after the tragedy. Authorities are actively investigating the cause with the intention of prosecuting those responsible.
At least three other venues in Romania have been closed, either temporarily or permanently, with owners apologizing for similarly unsafe conditions, according to reports. They include Expirat in Bucharest, The La Baza Club in Iasi, Romania and Rockstadt in Brasov.
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