Bucharest Nightclub Fire Kills 27, Injures 160

In Romania's most tragic incident in decades, a Bucharest nightclub fire and explosion has killed 27 people and injured more than 160 over the weekend, during a metal show that featured pyrotechnics.

As ABC reports, The Colectiv Club was hosting a show by Romanian metal band Goodbye To Gravity, with witnesses claiming that the fireworks inside the club caused the club's ceiling to burst into flames, as well as an explosion and heavy smoke.

Romania's Deputy interior minister Raed Arafat said 17 of the 27 dead are still unidentified, with 146 people in hospital. The bassist and singer of Goodbye To Gravity were among those seriously injured.

"Unfortunately, the death toll may change taking into account the severity of their injuries … The situation is slowly stabilising … we have many people with burns, intoxicated with smoke and people squashed."

Arafat says many people were lacking identification documents, perhaps indicative of the fact that the show was free admission. He also explained that no fire permit was requested nor granted by The Colectiv Club. 

President Klaus Iohannis said, "I am saddened, but also revolted that a tragedy of this scale could have taken place in Bucharest. We already have indications that the legal regulations had not been respected. I hope that the authorities manage their inquiry with speed and rigour."

Romania's health minister made a public appeal for blood donations — Romania is known for their low rate of blood donations, at only 1.7 per cent of the population. Earlier this year, a music festival launched a "Pay With Blood" campaign for punters to score discounted festival tickets if they donated blood.

A Romanian journalist captured the rescue efforts, check out the video below.