GOODBYE TO GRAVITY – Death Toll From Nightclub Fire In Romania Rises To 41

According to The Associated Press, nine more people died with burn-related injuries on Saturday, just over a week after a fire broke out in a Bucharest nightclub, authorities said, bringing the death toll in the tragedy to 41.

Many in Romania have blamed lax government safety standards for the deadly blaze. Prime Minister Victor Ponta and his Cabinet resigned Wednesday after mass protests.

The district mayor where the nightclub is located was arrested, along with two town hall employees, for giving out a permit without it being authorized by firefighters, the anti-corruption prosecutors’ office said Saturday. Mayor Cristian Popescu Piedone resigned on Wednesday, saying he was morally guilty for the fire.

Guitarists Vlad Telea and Mihai Alexandru (pictured) were among the 41 who died. The band’s voclaist Andrei Galut is said to be in serious condition at Elias hospital with burns on 45 percent of his body and injuries from smoke inhalation. Bassist Alex Pascu is reportedly at Spitalul de Urgenţă Floreasca (Bucharest Emergency Hospital), where he underwent surgery.

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.