Colectiv, 5 years on
Five years since the Colectiv nightclub fire in Bucharest, the authorities say survivors will benefit from lifelong medical treatment
Daniela Budu, 29.10.2020, 14:00
Romania’s President
Klaus Iohannis announced he would ratify the law on providing lifelong medical
treatment to the survivors of the Colectiv nightclub fire of October 30 2015, on
the very day the tragedy occurred 5 years ago. The Chamber of Deputies, as the
decision-making body in the matter, passed a draft law according to which the
expenses linked to any kind of treatment, underwent at home or abroad, in the
case of people whose health was affected by the Colectiv nightclub fire, will
be covered by the Ministry of Health for the entire duration of their lives. Five
years after the fire that claimed the lives of dozens of young people and
ruined the lives of scores of others and victims’ families, the survivors still
demand justice be served.
The Colectiv court case has reached the sentencing
phase. The last appearance at the Court of Appeal was postponed, as some of the
defendants had not hired legal representatives. In the aforementioned case the
former mayor of District 4 and other city hall public servants, but also the
club owners, two firefighters, members of the pyrotechnics crew and
representatives of the fireworks show were all handed prison sentences. The defendants
and the institutions they represent must now pay some €10 million in damages to
the victims. The Colectiv Association, set up by the victims’ families and
survivors, claims that, in the five years that have since passed, the
authorities have made no changes to avoid similar tragedies from happening in
the future.
The tragedy is also the subject of a film, which has been nominated
to represent Romania in the 2021 Academy Awards in the best international
feature section. The film follows the events unfolding 1 year after the fire,
and tells the story of people fighting the system, truth versus manipulation,
the clash between private and public interests, but also courage and
accountability.
On the night of October 30, 2015, a rock band climbed on an improvised
stage at the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest, venued in an old factory. Shortly
after the concert started, the fireworks accompanying the show ignited the
club’s acoustic foam. The fire lasted 153 seconds, enough to kill many people
inside the overcrowded club on the spot, but also for others to get killed in
the ensuing stampede towards the club’s only exit, inhaling a toxic mix of
fumes. The then Prime Minister shortly resigned, and so did the Mayor of
Bucharest’s District 4, where the club was located. Meanwhile the wounded were
transported for medical care abroad or remained in the country for treatment.
Many died to sustained burns or hospital-acquired infections. Street protests
shortly followed under the slogan corruption kills!. A criminal investigation
was launched, people were arrested, the court case dragged on, the sentences were
finally passed, and
