Sunday, October 30, was a day full of emotions for many Romanians, as it was the day when people commemorated one year since the tragedy at the former Colectiv club.

On October 30, 2015, a fire broke out at popular Colectiv club in Bucharest, killing a total of 64 young people and injuring much more.

On Sunday, a monument was unveiled in the small square located in front of former Colectiv club, to remember people of the tragedy and of those who lost their lives following the fire. The names of the 64 victims were carved at the base of the monument.

The cost of the monument amounts to some EUR 70,000, with around EUR 48,000 coming from Bucharest’s District 4 Council, and the rest from donations. Crown Princess Margareta and Prince Radu, together with the families of those who lost their lives after the tragic incident, attended the unveiling.

Then, in the afternoon, some 5,000 people joined a silent march organized in Bucharest in the memory of the fire victims.

Some 2,000 people gathered in Universitatii Square at around 14:00, the number growing to around 5,000 when the people started marching towards the former Colectiv Club. The people walked in silence, some of them holding pictures of those who died following the fire. Once they reached the place of the tragedy, people stopped to light a candle and lay flowers.

64 white balloons were also released in front of the former club, representing the 64 people who died. The balloons were brought by a group of students from Slatina.

Several politics personalities went to the former Colectiv club on Sunday to express their regrets, including US Ambassador Hans Klemm, UK Ambassador Paul Brummel, President Klaus Iohannis, Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos, and several ministers.

According to health minister Vlad Voiculescu, no person injured in the Colectiv club fire is currently in hospital, the last patient being discharged from the Military Hospital in Brussels on October 19, reports local Mediafax. However, 27 of them are still going to hospitals for treatment.

The investigation is ongoing in the club fire case. Last week, the National Anticorruption Department (DNA) announced that it had sent two employees of the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (ISU) to court, on charges of abuse of office and usurpation of function. The two ISU officers-inspectors are Antonina Radu and George Petrica Matei, who are accused of failing to meet their jobs’ requirements on fire prevention and safety, although they knew that the Colectiv club in Bucharest was operating without the required safety permits.

A total of 248 people have signed to be civil parts in this trial, asking for damages of over EUR 212 million and more than RON 51.24 million.

Looking back at 2015: Colectiv, the Romanian tragedy that has changed laws and people

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

(Photo source: Romaniaregala.ro)