Music

Pyrotechnics kill 27 and injure 180 at Romanian metal show

by Jesse Locke

A metal show in Bucharest, Romania turned tragic over the weekend with a fire inside the venue claiming the lives of 27 and injuring over 180.

Bucharest band Goodbye to Gravity were celebrating the release of their new album with a free show at the 400-person capacity venue Colectiv. The Telegraph reports that a large percentage of the victims were teenagers and students, including foreigners who did not speak Romanian. Goodbye to Gravity’s guitarists Vlad Telea and Mihai Alexandru were both killed, while singer Andrei Galut is in critical condition with burns covering 45% of his body.

According to reports, malfunctioning fireworks inside the venue caused a pillar covered in foam to set on fire before spreading to wooden areas of the club and its ceiling. With only one small exit, many concertgoers were trampled in their rush to exit the room filling with heavy smoke.

Local media also report that a fire permit had not been requested by the club, nor was one granted to them by the fire department. Health minister Nicolae Banicioiu made an appeal for blood donations after the Bucharest Emergency Hospital was “bombarded with severe cases.” Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis has declared three days of national mourning, promising a full investigation with “speed and rigour.”