BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A Romanian doctor says the number of deaths from a horrific nightclub fire and stampede in Bucharest is expected to rise ‘significantly’ because so many of the injured have severe burns.
Ioan Lascar, a doctor at the Floreasca Emergency Hospital, made the comment on Sunday as the deaths of two more people brought the overall toll to 29. At least 180 people were injured in the blaze, and over 140 were still hospitalized Sunday.
Emergency situations official Raed Arafat told reporters it was possible the death toll could double.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.
Two more people died Sunday of burns from a nightclub fire in Bucharest, a Romanian official said, raising the death toll in the horrific blaze to 29.
Forensic experts, meanwhile, began the first autopsies of victims on Sunday.
Raed Arafat, an emergency situations official, said the two had died in the hospital. They were among the 180 injured as they fled a fire and ended up in a panicked stampede Friday night toward the only door in the basement nightclub Colectiv in downtown Bucharest.
Doctors say over 140 people are still hospitalized around the Romanian capital, dozens of them in serious condition.
Witnesses say the fire erupted after a spark on stage from a heavy metal pyrotechnics show ignited foam decor.
Authorities are still collecting evidence from the scene.
On Saturday, the government decreed three days of mourning.
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