The General Prosecutor’s Office has concluded the investigation into the Colectiv club fire at the end of October 2015, which killed 64 people. Next, the prosecutors will complete the indictment and will send it to court. Several people will stand trial in this case, including the club’s owners.

In an indictment draft, the prosecutors said that, for the benefit of their own company, the defendants repeatedly imposed conditions through contractual clauses to attract a large number of spectators, although they were aware that the location was not fit for that, reports local Mediafax. Moreover, they were also aware of the risks arising from not taking the necessary measures on emergency situations.

According to the prosecutors, there was a poster in Colectiv club, located in a visible place, which said that the use of fire and pyrotechnic items were banned in the club. However, the investigators claim that this measure was only a formality, as pyrotechnic shows had been used on other occasions.

“Although the use of open fire was officially banned, the defendants allowed it on a large scale inside the Colectiv club,” the prosecutors said. For example, to encourage tobacco consumption, ashtrays were everywhere in the club, including on the shelves attached to the pillars covered in polyurethane foam.

Moreover, the three owners admitted at least once that they’ve allowed the organization of shows that involved the use of open fire. Moreover, the investigators added to the file recordings from other concerts and events organized in Colectiv club, which include the use of open fire.

It’s been almost six months since Romania was shaken by the tragic incident at Colectiv club in Bucharest. On October 30 last year, a group of some 400 people gathered in the nightclub for a rock concert. At around 22:30, one of the club’s pillars caught fire from one of the on-stage fireworks. According to the experts report, everything happened quite fast from that point, the fire burning for only 2.5 minutes.

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Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com