Bucharest nightclub fire: 27 killed and over 180 injured in fire at Colectiv nightclub in Romania

The fire was reportedly started by pyrotechnics, and spread quickly in the small space of the nightclub

Emergency services respond to the disaster outside the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest (STRINGER/Reuters)

A firework malfunction and subsequent fire at a Bucharest nightclub has killed 27 people and injured over 180 more.

Romanian news channel Digi24 reports that pyrotechnics inside the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest city centre started a fire, which spread quickly in the small club where over 500 people were attending an album launch party.

The Facebook event page for the party describes the "customized light show and pyrotechnic effects" that had been prepared.

After the fire, many Facebook users took to the event page to ask about the whereabouts of friends and relatives who they believed were at the club at the time.

A man who managed to get out of the club said that a crush started as everyone rushed to the exit.

Romanian Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea said 25 people were killed in the fire, and over 80 were injured. The death toll later rose to 27, and is expected to keep mounting as the night goes on. Oprea said the government has established a crisis unit to deal with the response to the fire in the immediate aftermath.

The injured, some of whom are foreigners, have been taken to local hospitals, which are struggling to cope with the huge influx of patients. The Foreign Office has said it is not aware of any British victims at present, but this could change as more becomes known.

Many residents of Bucharest have reportedly flocked to blood donation centres in an effort to help the injured.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis issued a statement of condolence shortly after the fire (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Klaus Iohannis, the President of Romania, issued a statement in which he said he was "shocked and deeply saddened" by the night's events.

He expressed his "full compassion" for the victims and their families, and assured them that everything was being done to improve the situation.