Colectiv Case Reaches Court
The case concerning the fire that killed 64 young people in Bucharests Colectiv nightclub last autumn has reached the trial stage.
România Internațional, 29.04.2016, 13:43
The legal proceedings concerning the fire at Colectiv nightclub, the most severe accident in post-communist Romania, have reached the trial stage. Six months ago, on October 30, 2015, hundreds of young people had come to attend a show where the rock band Goodbye to Gravity was launching a new album. It only took seconds for the fireworks to turn into a ravaging blaze, with temperatures reaching 900 degrees Celsius, according to prosecutors.
Sixty-four people died and over 100 others were injured in the tragedy that shocked the entire country. Half a year on, six people are on trial, including the three owners of the nightclub. The Prosecutor General’s office charged them with manslaughter, bodily harm and breach of workplace safety and health regulations. According to the indictment, the club management allowed in a lot more people than the facility was designed for, the building did not have the required number of emergency exits and a fireworks show was approved although the legal requirements had not been met.
The investigation also established that the club management failed to use fireproof materials in the renovation works, and the fire extinguishers were past the expiration date. Also on the bench, facing the same charges, are the representatives of the company that organised the fireworks show, more specifically the company owner, the manager and the employee that had set up and operated the fireworks display.
The prosecutors found that the products used were not accompanied by technical specifications, the instructions for their use were only in Bulgarian and they could only be used outdoors and fitted on stable and flat platforms. The victims of the Colectiv fire had extensive burns and pulmonary necrosis, and doctors warned at the time that complications could appear in the patients with large burns taken to intensive care units, because of the risk of infection that accompanies open wounds.
At the end of last year, a report requested by the Health Ministry indicated a number of in-hospital infections in the Bucharest hospitals treating the Colectiv fire victims. Recently, the Ministry has started inspections in all hospitals in the country to check whether the disinfectants used in healthcare units are safe. A journalistic investigation had revealed that some of these substances are even ten times diluted, with the patients running the risk of getting bacterial infections.
(Translated by A.M. Popescu)
