Bucharest club owners arrested over deadly blaze

The owners of a Bucharest nightclub where a fire killed 32 people and left almost 200 injured have been arrested.

According to the Guardian, Costin Mincu, Alin George Anastasescu and Paul Gancea were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. The three men declined to comment.

Friday’s blaze at rock venue Colectiv is believed to have started when a pyrotechnic display set fire to the stage during a concert by local band Goodbye To Gravity.

Up to 400 people were in the club at the time and a stampede started after the fire took hold and swept through the venue.

Romanian prosecutors say: “Data and evidence have shown the fire occurred because the people managing the respective space encouraged and allowed a number of people above the club’s limit in a space that was not endowed with more emergency exits.”

They add that the owners permitted “a fireworks show in the indoor venue that was improper as it contained easily flammable materials illegally installed to avoid additional costs.”

More than 130 people are still in hospital, with half of those in critical condition.

Other clubs in the country have closed on the back of the tragedy, with others temporarily shutting to improve safety standards.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that two of the dead were members of Goodbye To Gravity, and that a third member of the band is in hospital in a critical condition.

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.