Israeli specialists help Romania treat fire victims

Foreign medical experts aid in treatment of 140 people hospitalized after nightclub blaze that killed 30

By AP 2 November 2015, 3:51 pm 1 Edit

Thousands walk during a mourning march for the victims of the Colectiv nightclub fire in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

BUCHAREST, Romania — An official says specialist doctors have arrived to Romania from overseas to help treat those injured in the fire in a Bucharest nightclub that killed at least 30 people.

Raed Arafat, an emergency situations official, said Monday that a handful of specialists have arrived from Israel and France to help treat the 140 people who were hospitalized after the fire Friday night. Of those, 90 are in a critical or serious condition.

Arafat said that even if burns patients initially survive their injuries, medical problems can continue long afterward as “they tend to evolve in a stable manner and then start collapsing.”

He said some cases need frequent operations and their wounds need to be cared for.

The government says it will cover patients’ medical costs.