Bucharest - An explosion and fire late on Friday in a packed Bucharest nightclub killed at least 27 people, an emergency response official in the Romanian capital said.
Some 180 others were injured in the explosion, Raed Arafat, a government official responsible for emergency rescue services, told the Romanian news agency Mediafax.
President Klaus Iohannis said on Facebook he was "shaken and deeply saddened" by the tragedy.
"It is a very sad moment .. for our nation," he said.
A crisis meeting of the government was scheduled to take place early on Saturday. The Health Ministry called on Romanians to donate blood.
As state prosecutors opened their investigation, there was no official statement on the cause of the explosion and fire.
Several eyewitnesses quoted in media reports said a fireworks show in the Colectiv nightclub set fire to a pillar near the stage covered with sound-insulating foam.
A guard was said to have tried unsuccessfully to extinguish the flames, but the fire apparently spread to sound-insulating material on the ceiling and wall.
A massive panic ensued among the estimated 200 customers in the nightclub, and some were trampled in the rush of people trying to leave.
The bodies of several of the dead were found inside the nightclub.
During a safety check at the club 10 days ago, police found too few qualified people on hand, and issued it with a fine.
The fire occurred during a concert by the Bucharest-based metal band Goodbye to Gravity.
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