In late-October, a usual rock concert in a club turned into one of the greatest tragedies Romania has seen in years. When the fire started in Colectiv club, at around 22:30 on October 30, Goodbye to Gravity was playing for some 400 people. 27 of them lost their lives that night, but the number of deaths kept increasing in the coming period, reaching 63 on December 21.

Many young people lost their lives following the nightclub fire, including journalists, musicians, artists and students.

October 30 – 27 people lose their lives on this night.

Stefan Andrei Hamed, one of the victims, was only 15 years old. Mihai Alexandru and Vlad Telea were Goodbye to Gravity’s guitarists, Catalina Ionita was the co-founder of UrbanEye Film Festival in Bucharest and Mihai Alexandru’s girlfriend, Petru Andrei Buca, Ioan Tripa, and Maria Dorina Vulcu were architects, Constantin Ignat was the band’s drummer, Mihaela Vieru was a medical engineer and Constantin Ignat’s girlfriend, and Laurentiu Marian Varlan was a guitarist in another band called Up the Eleven.

Adrian Rugina, 38, was also a musician. He managed to get out of the club after the fire started, but returned to help other people trapped in the deadly club. He is one of the two victims who have received, post-mortem, the National Order "For Merit" in rank of Knight, for courage, selflessness, and commitment. The other one is photographer and blogger Claudiu Petre, 36, who also returned to the club to help other victims.

Maria Ion, 38, was the club’s cleaning lady. She left five children behind, and a paralyzed husband. Ionut Valentin Fieraru, 25, was also working at the club as a bartender. Marius Stefan Rusitoru, 27, was image editor at public television TVR, while Simona Stan was working at Oracle.

Alexandru Catalin Simion (aged 40), Anda Ioana Epure (31), Florea Valentina (27), Carmen Irina Oprita (24), Gabriel Matei (42), Radu Palada (35), Tilie Nelu (47), Diana Elena Enache (25), Nicoleta Baldovin (25), Paul Alexandru Georgescu (23), Monica Tanasoiu (35) are the other rock fans who died in that tragic night.

November 1 – three other people lose their lives: Liliana Gheorghe (a student aged 25), Mimi Voicu (31, the band’s costume designer), and Alexandra Matache (26, an employee of Colectiv club).

November 2 – Costin Carlicean, 44, also loses his life at the Burns Hospital in Bucharest.

November 3 – Andreea Chiriac, 28, also dies. She was an Oracle employee.

November 7 - Nine more people injured in the fire die on this day, more than a week from the tragedy. The death toll reaches 41.

Ionut Cosmin Popescu, 32, was from Focsani but was working in Bucharest. He was the boyfriend of Monica Tanasoiu, the young woman who died in the night of the event. Daniel Ciobanu, 39, the guitarist of Prea Tarziu band, was in the club on October 30 to film Goodbye to Gravity’s concert, while Ionut Maior, 27, was a bass player in Bruma rock band. Florin Cristian Popescu, 35, was the club’s bodyguard. He was badly injured while trying to help other victims.

Adrian Popa and Serian Mavi were Oracle employees while Alexandru Chelba and Andra Elena Toader were photographers. A young Italian student was also among those who lost their lives on November 7. Her name was Tullia Ciotola and was 20 years old.

November 8 – the bad news continues as four more people die.

Alexandra Radulescu, 26, was from Brasov and was working as a bartender at Colectiv club. Bogdan Enache, Goodbye to Gravity’s drummer, also died on this day. The other two young people who have lost their lives were Matei Alexandru, a young man aged 26, and a Turkish student named Ayberk Manci.

November 9 – the death toll keeps rising.

Teodora Maftei, a young journalist and photographer, died at a hospital in Israel, where she has been transferred just a few days before. The other victim who has died on this day is Liviu Zaharescu, a young man from Brasov who was working as photographer for an online music publication. He died at the Burns Hospital in Bucharest.

November 10 – Tudor Golu, Axial Lead’s guitarist and the young man who made the video for Goodbye to Gravity’s famous song The Day We Die, lost his life at a hospital in the UK. Elena Nitu, who was also admitted at a hospital in the UK, died the same day. Both of them had burns on most of their bodies, as well as respiratory tract burns.

November 11 – the death toll continues to increase. Alexandru Pascu, the bass player of Goodbye to Gravity lost his life on Wednesday evening. He was being transferred to a clinic facility in France but died when the plane landed in Paris. Vladut Andy Roberto also lost his life in the UK, on the day he was turning 19.

November 12 – two more people die at Floreasca Hospital in Bucharest. One of them is Madalina Strugaru, the girlfriend of Andrei Galut - the lead singer of Goodbye to Gravity. Alex Aliman is the second victim who lost his life on this day. Another victim of the tragic event, Claudiu Bogdan Istrate, 22, died at the Bagdasar-Arseni hospital in Bucharest on Thursday night.

November 13 - the death toll reaches 55 after Loredana Darescu, 29, dies in a hospital in Germany. Born in Braila, Loredana was working for an international company in Bucharest.

November 16 - Ioana Victoria Geambasu, a young woman aged 18, died at Sfantul Ioan Hospital in Bucharest.

November 19 - another person injured in the tragic incident died at the Burns Hospital in Bucharest. Her name was Ana Albu and she 37 years old.

November 20 - Andreea Stefan, 28, died in a clinic in Germany. She was from Bucharest and was working as HR Administrator at Accenture Romania.

November 21 - Alexandru Mihai Iancu, 25, died in a hospital in Bucharest. He graduated from the Academy of Economic Studies ASE in Bucharest and liked to play the guitar.

November 22 - The death toll keeps rising, reaching 60. Alexandru Hogea was only 19 years old and died in a clinic in Vienna. He was from Sinaia mountain resort.

December 13 - The tragedy continues. Ioana Raluca Panculescu, 36, dies at a clinic in Germany.

December 15 - A young photographer dies at the Burns Hospital in Bucharest. Raluca Boghian, 26, was in a very bad condition, having burns on most of her body.

December 21 - 30-year old graphic artist Cristian Mitroi was first hospitalized in the Floreasca unit in Bucharest and later transported to the UK, where he passed away on December 21.

May they all rest in peace!

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