At Least 27 Dead, 180 Injured In Explosion, Fire During Bucharest Heavy Metal Concert

At least 27 people were killed and nearly two hundred were injured Friday night (October 30) in Bucharest, Romania after an explosion during a concert by a local heavy metal band called GOODBYE TO GRAVITY. The incident occurred at the Colectiv nightclub during a release party for the group’s new album, “Mantras Of War”, which was attended by an estimated 400 people. It is believed that the explosion happened after GOODBYE TO GRAVITY‘s fireworks show went awry, sparking a fire and panic among the hundreds inside, many of whom scrambled for the exit.

“People were fainting, they were fainting from the smoke. It was total chaos, people were trampling on each other,” a witness told Romania’s Antena 3 TV. “It was a tragedy that could have been avoided if there had been more organization from the emergency services.”

A concert attendee wrote on Facebook that two foam pillars caught fire. “They then set fire to wood inside the building, which burned everything really quickly,” he said. “It was made worse by the fact that the only way out was a relatively small door.”

An October 26 posting on the Colectiv Facebook page promised that GOODBYE TO GRAVITY‘s performance at the venue would include “a customized light show and pyrotechnic effects.”

Klaus Iohannis, the president of Romania, wrote on Facebook that he was “shocked and deeply saddened” by the fire. “It is a very sad moment for all of us, for our nation and for me personally,” he wrote. “At this painful time, I express my full compassion and solidarity with the families of those affected by this tragedy.”

GOODBYE TO GRAVITY started as an unexpected mixture of former members from the heavy metal band THUNDERSTORM (which in their 10-plus years of activity opened for such heavyweights such as JUDAS PRIEST, MANOWAR, HELLOWEEN, RAGE and EVERGREY) and the winner of the 2008 national TV show “Megastar” (Romanian “American Idol” equivalent).

Photo below shows GOODBYE TO GRAVITY performing at Colectiv right before the explosion took place.