Solidarity with the Colectiv victims

Gestures of solidarity keep coming in from Romania and abroad after the deadly fire at Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest.

Roxana Vasile, 12.11.2015, 13:52

The death toll following the horrific fire at the
Colectiv club in Bucharest on October 30 is rising by the day. On Wednesday,
the number of dead exceeded 50. Artists, journalists and foreign students are
among them. Over 70 people are still in hospital in the capital city Bucharest,
20 of whom in critical and serious condition. Over 30 people from the around
150 who were taken to hospital on the night of the fire have been transferred
to hospitals abroad. Doctors have warned that patients treated in the intensive
care units and who have suffered severe burns are still at a high risk of
infection as long as they have open wounds. Nevertheless, positive thinking is
crucial for their condition to improve. Dr. Andrei Carandino, the chief of the
plastic surgery unit at the Bagdasar-Arseni Hospital in Bucharest, tells us
about the situation of the injured in his hospital:

They were all in critical condition when they were
first brought in. They have all undergone surgery and some of them will be
operated on again, but their physical and mental condition is very good at
present. Positive thinking is known to encourage healing irrespective of the
nature of the injury, particularly in a situation like this. The fact that they
see they are well taken care of, that their condition has improved, the support
of their families and of the medical staff contributes to their recovery. If
things go well, they can get well within the next two or three weeks, but
functional recovery may take months.

All this time, gestures of solidarity with the
victims have been coming in from both Romania and abroad. The European
Parliament opened its Wednesday’s plenary sitting by paying homage to the
victims of the deadly fire in Bucharest. On this occasion European MP Victor
Negrescu told his colleagues:

Tens of people, most of them young, continue to
fight for their lives in hospitals and a message from you is a gesture of
solidarity with the Romanian society in this tragic moment. I would like to
thank all member states that have offered us their assistance in these
difficult times.

Also on Wednesday, the Romanian national football
squad and their coach Anghel Iordanescu, as well as the head of the Romanian
Football Federation, Razvan Burleanu, lit candles outside the nightclub, in
memory of the victims. The thoughts of the national team, the technical staff
and the Football Federation are with the families of those who died, coach
Anghel Iordanescu said.

(Translated by: E. Enache; edited by: C. Mateescu)