At least 27 people died and 162 were injured when a fire broke out late Friday at a music club in central Bucharest, Romania, reports CNN (http://cnn.it/1GDSt2H)
It was almost Halloween. The band, Goodbye to Gravity, was celebrating a new album with a free concert.
But suddenly, 300 or 400 people were scrambling toward the one exit at Colectiv, a club built inside a Communist-era factory.
Witnesses say pyrotechnics sparked a fire that quickly became a widespread fire with dark, blinding smoke. Authorities said the cause is still under investigation..
A spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry, Monica Dajbog said many of the injured — who were taken to 12 hospitals — were in critical condition.
Paul Angelescu, a reporter with ProTV, said the mayor told him the club had all the necessary permits to operate as a club.
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said he was “shocked and deeply saddened” by the news.
“It is a very sad moment for all of us, for our nation and for me personally,” he said in a post to his Facebook page.
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