Interior minister: 26 dead in club explosion in Bucharest

Bucharest, Oct 31: An explosion on a bandstage at a Bucharest nightclub has left 26 people dead and 145 hospitalized with injuries, Romania's interior minister said.

Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea said yesterday the explosion occurred at a downtown club in the city of 3 million people. Digi 24 television station cited witnesses who said the explosion came after a spark on a stage where a band was performing ignited some of the polystyrene decor.

Witnesses told Antena 3 TV there were between 300 to 400 young people at the club and there had been a "pyrotechnical show."

The station reported that people panicked and rushed for the exit. Oprea arrived at the Colectiv club where the Goodbye to Gravity band was playing. The ministry saiod there were 60 ambulances and fire engines sent to the scene and a mobile hospital had been set up outside. Some 50 people were taken to the Floreasca emergency hospital, the ministry said.

AP