The head of the Directorate for Emergency Situation (DSU), Raed Arafat, told Digi24 that Romania responded to North Macedonia’s request for help and evacuated patients in serious condition to hospitals in other countries.
At the same time, he drew attention to the risks that exist in Romania as well, emphasizing the importance of respecting safety regulations to prevent tragedies like the one at Colectiv. “We continue to find unconscious people who do not respect the law,” Arafat warned.
Authorities in North Macedonia are on alert after a devastating nightclub fire, which killed 59 people. In this context, Romania has intervened to transport victims to hospitals in other countries.
“Following the meeting of the National Emergency Committee yesterday evening, we were approved to participate in the request of North Macedonia, made through the European Civil Protection Mechanism, to evacuate 15 patients with burns with lung injuries to other countries,” said Raed Arafat.
Romania has mobilized a medical plane, operated in collaboration with the Ministry of Defense and SMURD Bucharest teams.
“Places have been identified in several countries and now, at this moment, our plane is flying between Skopje and Vilnius, after taking over four young people who are intubated, ventilated, in serious but stable condition,” he explained.
According to the official, the rescue mission was organized against the clock: “We worked all night to organize this mission so that we could do it as quickly as possible. And today, at 7:00, the plane took off from Base 90, with the SMURD crew on board, with colleagues from the Ministry of Defense, and is scheduled to deliver the patients to Vilnius around 12:30 – 13:00, local time.”
At the same time, other European countries have offered their support for the transport of the victims. “Luxembourg has offered a means of transport with a smaller capacity, but will make transports between North Macedonia and the surrounding countries. I understand that Bulgaria has taken a number of patients, Greece, being at the border.”
Asked whether Romania carries out checks to prevent such tragedies, Raed Arafat recalled the measures taken after the fire at Colectiv, but also the problems that persist.
“The inspectorates carry out checks permanently. There is a provision in this regard and there is legislation that was further developed through a government decision, based on the law that we issued in 2015 before Colectiv. After Colectiv, a government decision was made that even allows the closure of some premises,” he said.
However, Arafat emphasizes that there are still premises that operate without respecting safety regulations. “These checks are carried out continuously, but unfortunately, we still find unconscious people who do not respect the law or try to evade the law,” he added.
The DSU chief also emphasized that the authorities cannot supervise every space permanently, the responsibility primarily falling on the administrators. “We cannot have a firefighter at every door of a club or disco or restaurant. It is the responsibility of those who have these premises under administration to ensure that the legislation is respected. This is our big problem. There are many willing to break the law and when you break the law, the results are tragic most of the time.”
In this context, Arafat made a call for responsibility: “We have the responsibility to, of course, when we see that the law is being broken, to take measures, but the main responsibility is the administrator. If he is prone to breaking the law, he does so at the expense of the lives of others.”
The fire in the nightclub in North Macedonia is similar to the fire in Colectiv club in Bucharest in 2015, which killed 65 people, mostly youngsters.
A fire in a nightclub in the city of Kocani, North Macedonia has killed 59 people and injured over 100. Seven days of national mourning have been declared following the tragedy and 20 people were detained on Sunday for questioning, including a government official, as well as the manager of the premises, who did not have a license, Interior Minister Panche Toskovski said.
Most of those who died in the fire that devastated the Pulse nightclub during a hip-hop concert were teenagers and young adults. About 155 were injured, many of whom are in critical condition.