Yesterday 13:47

Nicușor Dan laid a wreath at the former Colectiv club, 11 years after the tragedy

Gabriel Dumitrache

30 October 2026, 13:47

Current Affairs

Inquam Photos / Octav Ganea

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President Nicușor Dan laid a wreath on Friday in front of the former Colectiv club in Bucharest, to commemorate the 65 young people who lost their lives in the fire that occurred 11 years ago. The head of state lit a candle and spoke briefly with the people who had come to the site of the tragedy.

During the morning, a group of priests conducted a religious service in memory of the victims. Those present observed a moment of silence and prayed for those who died following the fire on October 30, 2015.

The fire broke out during a concert performed by the band Goodbye To Gravity, at the launch of an album, after fireworks lit indoors triggered the blaze. The tragedy left 65 people dead and hundreds injured.

Eleven years after the event, the three centers for treating severely burned patients promised by the authorities, in Bucharest, Timișoara, and Târgu Mureș, are still not operational. Their opening is expected next year. At the same time, the investigation into how the injured were treated in hospitals in Romania has not been completed.

Context: Government officials have resumed discussions about burn centers and continued the litigation related to Colectiv compensation

Before the commemoration, Health Minister Alexandru Rogobete stated that steps to build a center for adults with severe burns in Bucharest could begin in 2027, 11 years after the fire at Colectiv. He also mentioned delays in payments for works financed through the NRRP, saying that funding was unlocked in June to recover arrears and continue the project.

Separately, the tragedy has remained in the courts: the Bucharest-Ilfov Emergency Situations Inspectorate requested the recovery of compensation paid to victims, in a context in which the Bucharest Court of Appeal definitively established on May 12, 2022, payment obligations of more than 50 million euros to victims and families, as well as payments of more than 8 million lei to hospitals. Subsequently, the inspectorate is said to have paid approximately 60 million euros to around 300 survivors and relatives, while recovery lawsuits continued in parallel.