A year on from the Colectiv tragedy

Victims of the devastating blaze that ripped through the Colectiv nightclub last year were commemorated in Romania on Sunday.

Corina Cristea, 31.10.2016, 13:54

Thousands took to the streets of Bucharest on Sunday to participate in a march of silence held to commemorate the victims of a devastating fire that killed 64 young people in a nightclub in Bucharest a year ago. Many died in the following weeks as a result of the wounds and hospital-acquired infections. The tragedy sparked off mass-protests against high-level corruption and eventually forced the Ponta government to step down. The disaster has also revealed a series of the flaws in the system and had numerous destinies changed. A year after the tragedy, questions are still unanswered and there are many unhealed wounds in the families mourning for their loved ones and many suffering for those over 100 wounded, most of whom are still fighting to recover.

The blaze was caused by the fireworks during a concert given by a rock band named Good Bye to Gravity. The non-fireproof insulating material used in the construction led to the rapid propagation of fire turning, the Colectiv nightclub into a death trap. The 350 people inside fought to escape through the club’s single access door. A year on from the tragedy, a monument was unveiled close to the place where the fire started, in front of the Colective nightclub, where people observed a moment of silence while a spotlight sent a ray of light to the sky.

President Klaus Iohannis laid a wreath of flowers and lit a candle to the memory of those who died in the fire: “Romania has changed. Control and checking procedures are tighter and thoroughly applied in such places where events are being staged. Procedures have improved and clarified. But there are some other things that haven’t changed, in my opinion, in a series of domains. For instance, we would like to know after one year, who is responsible for this terrible accident.”

An investigation, that hasn’t been finalized by prosecutors yet, has revealed that what happened in the Colectiv nightclub, the worst disaster in the past decades in Europe, was caused by a series of irregularities, such as allowing the access of way too many people or the way in which licenses were being granted. Three cases in the Colectiv case are still under investigation by military and civilian authorities.

Also attending the commemorative events on Sunday, Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos said quote ‘it is the duty of every man to learn from the Colectiv tragedy and not forget the harm that lies, arrogance and corruption can do.” Unquote A charity concert was held by several rock bands and the money was donated to the Colectiv survivors who still need treatment for the wounds caused by the fire.

(Translated by Daniel Bilt)