Police Arrest Three Nightclub Owners Following Fire at Metal Show in Romania

A fire exploded at a Bucharest nightclub on Friday night (Oct. 30), which was then reported to have led to more than two dozen deaths. That number has since risen to 31 with another 180 people injured. Police have arrested three owners of the Colectiv Club for suspected manslaughter.

The fire erupted during a free record release show by the local heavy metal outfit Goodbye to Gravity. According to BBC News, police questioned the three club owners -- Costin Mincu, Alin George Anastasescu and Paul Gancea -- regarding the club’s safety codes and permits.

The club is suspected of being over capacity on the night of the concert, with an estimated 400 people in attendance. Officials also question whether the club was equipped with enough emergency exits and the necessary permits to hold concerts and use the pyrotechnics that are thought to have ignited the fire, which concertgoers initially believed was part of the band’s performance.

Lemi Black, one of the surviving members of Goodbye to Gravity, told the Telegraph two pillars caught on 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.”

According to reports, there was a second door that had to be broken down in order to exit the building.