GOODBYE TO GRAVITY Bassist Dies From Burn Injuries; Death Toll Rises To 51 In Bucharest Nightclub Tragedy

According to the Associated Press, Goodbye To Gravity bassist Alex Pascu and two Romanian teenagers who were burned in a deadly nightclub blaze in Bucharest have died, bringing the tragedy’s overall death toll to 51. The 33-year-old Pascu  was transferred from a Bucharest hospital to Paris on Wednesday in an interior ministry plane to be treated for his burns, but died after the plane landed. The band’s drummer and two guitarists have all died from their injuries. The only surviving member is lead singer Andrei Galut.

In other news, the former mayor of the Bucharest district where the basement Colectiv nightclub was located, Cristian Popescu Piedone, was released Wednesday. He had been held in custody with two town hall employees on charges of abuse of office and granting authorization for the club despite the fact it did not have a fire permit.

Authorities say 76 people remain hospitalized in Bucharest after the fire, 24 of them in serious or critical condition caused by burns. Another 29 people are being treated in foreign hospitals for burns.

Witnesses told Antena 3 TV that between 300 to 400 mostly young people had been at the club, housed in a former factory, when Goodbye To Gravity’s pyrotechnical show went awry when a spark on stage ignited some polystyrene decor. Hundreds fled in a panic trying to get out of the Colectiv club’s only exit door from a basement in downtown Bucharest.