Radio România Internațional

Tag: Crevedia explosions

September 3, 2023 UPDATE

REPORT – The head of
the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, on Sunday made public the
preliminary report detailing the firefighters’ intervention following last
week’s explosions at an illegal LPG filling station in Crevedia, which killed
three people. According to the report, the firefighters first sent intervention
robots to cool down the gas tanks, secured the perimeter and evacuated the
civilians, thus avoiding a larger number of casualties among both civilians and
emergency responders. Raed Arafat complained about the disinformation and
manipulation of media outlets regarding the coordination of the intervention.
Three people died and 56 were injured in the wake of the blasts. Some of the
patients in critical condition were transferred to burn clinics abroad. Some 10
houses were completely destroyed by the blasts. The Prosecutor General’s
Office, the Military Prosecutor’s Office and the National Anticorruption
Directorate have launched investigations, while the authorities are inspecting
all LPG stations across Romania.

DEFENSE -
Russia’s attack on the Ukrainian port of Reni on the Danube River does not pose
a direct military threat to Romania or its territorial waters, the Defense
Ministry in Bucharest announced. Defense officials say its internal structures
have had real-time oversight of last night’s Russian drone attacks. The Defense
Ministry gave assurances that it has taken measures to increase the vigilance
of land, maritime and air defenses and to consolidate defense and deterrence
postures on the eastern flank, in line with national and NATO operative plans.

ARREST -
Mining tycoon Beny Steinmetz, who was handed a five-year prison sentence in
Romania, has been detained on Larnaca International Airport in Cyprus under a
European arrest warrant issued by Romanian authorities. It is unclear whether
Steinmetz will be handed over to Romanian law enforcement considering other
European states, including Greece and Italy, have refused to do so in the past.
Greece refused to put Steinmetz into Romanian custody, after local authorities
believed Steinmetz was denied a fair trial. Beny Steinmetz received a final
sentence in December 2020 for property fraud. Steinmetz is also wanted in
Switzerland, where a tribunal passed a five-year prison sentence in his name
for bribing several public servants to win lucrative mining licenses in Guinea.

ACCIDENT -
Two climbers, one Romanian the other German, died on Sunday morning in the
Italian Alps after a member of their group slipped and fell, dragging three
other party members, according to ANSA news agency. The Romanian was 35 and was
living in Italy, while the German climber was 46 and lived in Munich. Another
two people were injured in the accident on Mount Ortler (3,905m) in
northeastern Italy, both medevaced from the area. The climbers were moving in
single file on a rather easy segment of their track, which is why some of the
members were not using safety gear at the time of the accident, ANSA reports.

TENNIS -
Romanian tennis player Andreea Mitu on Sunday won the ITF tournament in Prague
after defeating fourth-seed Sara Bejlek of the Czech Republic 7-6, 2-6, 6-3 in
the final. Ranked 450 in WTA standings, Mitu won her most important ITF title
of her career. Bejlek (213 WTA) had ousted Irina Bara of Romania in the
quarterfinals, 6-3, 6-4. Another Romanian tennis player, Bogdan Pavel (1,585
ATP) won the Tennis Club Bucharest Trophy after defeating third-seed Juan Pablo
Paz (590 ATP) in the finals, 7-5, 6-4. This is the first ITF title in the men’s
singles for Pavel, who previously won three ITF doubles tournaments.

WEATHER – A code yellow alert against thunderstorms is in
place until Monday in northwestern Romania. Heavy rainfall, thunderstorms,
strong wind and hail are expected during the interval in widespread areas.
Thunderstorms are also expected in isolated areas in regions in the south and
southeast. The weather remains sunny and warm in the other regions, with
maximum temperatures ranging between 20 and 34 degrees. (VP)

3 September 2023
September 3, 2023

PARLIAMENT -
Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said the Government will assume responsibility
for a law that will contain a plan for combating tax evasion, reforming local
administration and measures to curb the budget deficit. He made the announcement
at the end of the Social-Democratic National Political Councail held on Saturday, which set the party’s
priorities ahead of Parliament’s autumn session due to start on Monday. The
Social-Democrats want to finalize the new pension law, modify the legislation
on the prevention and combating drug trafficking and abuse and introducing
harsher sanctions for driving under the influence. The Romanian Prime Minister
also announced an extension of the cap on foodstuffs until the end of the year.
USR in opposition said it would call for a vote of no-confidence if the
government assumes responsibility for the fiscal modifications. USR leader
Cătălin Drulă said increasing taxes is not a viable solution.

REPORT – The head of
the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, on Sunday made public the
preliminary report detailing the firefighters’ intervention following last
week’s explosions at an illegal LPG filling station in Crevedia, which killed
three people. According to the report, the firefighters first sent intervention
robots to cool down the gas tanks, secured the perimeter and evacuated the
civilians, thus avoiding a larger number of casualties among both civilians and
emergency responders. Raed Arafat complained about the disinformation and
manipulation of media outlets regarding the coordination of the intervention.
Three people died and 56 were injured in the wake of the blasts. Some of the
patients in critical condition were transferred to burn clinics abroad. Some 10
houses were completely destroyed by the blasts. The Prosecutor General’s
Office, the Military Prosecutor’s Office and the National Anticorruption
Directorate have launched investigations, while the authorities are inspecting
all LPG stations across Romania.

EUROIUDAICA – The city of
Oradea in northwestern Romania is as of Sunday hosting the Euroiudaica
International Festival, celebrating Jewish culture and traditions. For the next
seven days, the festival offers theatre, dance and music performances, book
launches, conferences and exhibitions featuring special guests from at home and
abroad. Some of the events will be hosted by local synagogues. Jewish music is
also celebrated in all its forms, featuring guests from Romania, Poland,
Hungary, Slovakia and Argentina. On the sidelines of the Euroiudaica Festival,
five theatre shows will be staged by companies from Romania, Poland and
Hungary.

US OPEN -
Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea on Sunday is playing Belinda Bencic of
Switzerland in the round of 16 at US Open. Cîrstea leads 2-1 head-to-head. We
recall Sorana Cîrstea qualified for the first time in her career to this phase
of the competition after ousting Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, world no. 4.
Another Romanian player, Gabriela Ruse, is competing in the women’s doubles
alongside Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine.

WEATHER – A code yellow alert against thunderstorms is in
place until Monday in northwestern Romania. Heavy rainfall, thunderstorms,
strong wind and hail are expected during the interval in widespread areas.
Thunderstorms are also expected in isolated areas in regions in the south and
southeast. The weather remains sunny and warm in the other regions, with
maximum temperatures ranging between 20 and 34 degrees. (VP)

3 September 2023
Financial aid to the victims of the Crevedia blasts

The victims of the Crevedia blasts and their families will receive
financial aid, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has announced. 5 people are still
in critical condition in ICU wards, two of them treated in hospitals in Romania
and another three abroad, while another 22 patients are treated in hospitals in
Bucharest, their condition being stable. In total, some 500 thousand EUR will
be paid next week to the victims and their families.

We have earmarked aid for the families of the victims of the tragedy in
Crevedia and to all those whose households were affected by the fire. 2
thousand EUR will be paid every month to caregivers assisting the injured
abroad and 400 EUR per month to caregivers assisting the injured in Romania. We
are also providing assistance to people without family, to those whose houses
were affected by the fire, with amounts ranging from 500 EUR to 2,000 EUR per
family, depending on the damages sustained.

The Romanian Prime Minister also said the government is in permanent
contact with the hospitals in Europe treating patients with serious burns,
adding that the state will cover all transport and related expenses for the
families who accompanied the victims. Marcel Ciolacu said a nation-wide
investigation is underway, targeting filling stations, particularly the 1,300
LPG stations on Romania’s territory. The Romanian official called on the
relevant institutions to enforce the law and take firm action wherever they
report irregularities.

These so-called business owners, who get hundreds of millions of EUR in
profits at the cost of large-scale tragedies, must be ousted from the Romanian
business sector. We have to change the legislation so that any company without
a fire safety permit or operating license can also face criminal charges. In
the current legal framework, they will only pay a fine and carry own with their
business, potentially triggering new tragedies.

Last night, firefighters managed to empty the three gas tanks in
Crevedia, fully securing the site. Meanwhile, another person has died to the
burns sustained in Saturday’s blasts, a man hospitalized at the Floreasca
Emergency Hospital in Bucharest, who had sustained burns on 90% of his body.
Another patient treated in Milan, Italy, is in critical condition. So far,
three people have died following Saturday’s explosions in Crevedia. (VP)

1 September 2023
August 30, 2023 UPDATE

MEASURES – The European Commission is yet to present its
conclusions following this week’s talks with Romanian government
representatives. According to EU sources, the plans and measures presented by Romanian
ministers failed to convince the Commission they are enough to gap Romania’s
budget deficit. The proposals for postponing or modifying budget deficit
targets were also met with skepticism, all the more so as the situation in
Romania is fragile in this sector and Romania is the only EU Member State
facing infringement procedures in this respect. The opposition in Bucharest
claims the European Commission allegedly said no to increasing the budget
deficit because it distrusted the reform promises of the current government. In
turn, representatives of the business sector have told European Commission
representatives that a number of red lines must be drawn with regard to the
current fiscal measures promoted by Romanian lawmakers. Companies want all fiscal
modifications to be postponed to January 2024 at the earliest, while the
government should announce fiscal measures at least 6 months before they take
effect in order to ensure predictability in the business sector.

CREVEDIA EXPLOSIONS – 19 of the almost
60 people injured in Saturday’s explosions in Crevedia have been discharged
from hospital, and the condition of a few others has improved – according to
the latest information provided by the Health Ministry. However, 9 of the
injured are still in critical condition. Six are being treated in hospitals
abroad, and three in Romania. No other deaths were reported besides the two
reported immediately after the LPG station blast. Meanwhile the authorities
continue the damage assessment. Data so far shows that, following the
explosions followed by a fire, 11 houses were affected, 8 of which were
completely destroyed. Intervention teams are present at the scene of the
disaster, and the firefighters continue to cool some LPG tanks left in the
area. The security perimeter was also extended, because two of the tanks have
gas leaks. Meanwhile, prosecutors are collecting documents for several open
criminal cases.

NETWORK – Prosecutors with the Directorate for Investigating
Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) in cooperation with the Romanian Police
have shut down a segment of an global computer network that infected hundreds
of thousands of computers in dozens of countries with a view to accessing the
finances of their users. According to investigators, the victims were usually
sent links which, once accessed, uploaded viruses to their computers, allowing
hackers to copy financial records. The administrators of this network were
allegedly paid 50 mln EUR in ransoms by the victims over 2021-2023.

KOREA-ROMANIA RELATIONS – 2023 marks 15 years since the establishment of the
Strategic Partnership between South Korea and Romania. During this time,
economic relations have seen an exponential increase, the South-Korean
Ambassador in Romania, HE Rim Kap-soo said in an interview during his visit to
the headquarters of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation in Bucharest. As
a result of intensified economic exchanges, two-way trade stood at 1.3 bln EUR
last year. Last week, Seoul donated to Romania 81 pieces of lab equipment worth
approximately 3.67 mln EUR, which will be used by the National Institute for
Public Health. HE Rim Kap-soo explained this was a gesture of goodwill in light
of the excellent cooperation between the two countries during the COVID-19
pandemic, when Romania offered Seoul 1.5 million doses of anti-COVID-19 vaccine.
(LS & VP)

30 August 2023
August 27, 2023 UPDATE

EXPLOSIONS -
Prosecutors with the High Court of Cassation and Justice in Bucharest have
taken over the investigation in Saturday’s explosions at an LPG filling station
in Crevedia near Bucharest. According to Prosecutor General Alex Florența, the preliminary
investigation shows that the first blast occured as employees of the station
were trying to transfer LPG from one tank to another, when they discovered a
source of fire. The second blast occurred
as firefighters were trying to put out the fire. Alex Florența says the
investigation also seeks to establish the role of institutions that should have
inspected the functioning permits of the LPG station, which was a storehouse in
official documents after its fuel trading license had been suspended by the
Inspectorate for Emergency Situations in 2020. The Military Prosecutor’s Office
also started a criminal investigation into the emergency response on scene.
According to the latest update provided by the authorities, one person died of
a heart attack, one person died to the burns while in hospital and another 60
were injured, mostly firefighters. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu on Sunday
visited the scene of the blasts, announcing all LPG stations in Romania will be
inspected starting Monday. On the other hand, the authorities have activated
the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and 12 victims have already been transferred to
burn clinics in Belgium, Italy, Austria, Germany and Norway. Dozens of other
victims are treated in hospitals across the country.

MOLDOVA -
Romania’s president, Klaus Iohannis, conveyed a message marking the National
Day of the Republic of Moldova, celebrated 32 years since the proclamation of
independence. Romania stands with Moldova and will continue to support its EU
accession, its resilience, its safety and the prosperity of its citizens,
president Iohannis tweeted. In turn, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu conveyed a
message of congratulations to Moldovan citizens. The Republic of Moldova has
chosen the path of freedom, it has chosen Europe, the European Commission
president Ursula von der Leyen wrote online, expressing solidarity, friendship
and support for the brave inhabitants of the Republic of Moldova. In 1991,
after the failed coup of conservative forces, the Moldovan Parliament convened
on August 27 to decide the future of the country. The vote was followed by the
biggest National Assembly. 278 deputies voted in favor of the Declaration of
Independence. On March 2, 1992, Moldova became a full member of the UN.

ENESCU FESTIVAL -
The 26th edition of the George Enescu International Music Festival kicked
off on Sunday in Bucharest. For 29 days, 3,500 of the most renowned artists in
the world and over 40 orchestras from 16 countries will climb on stage as part
of 90 concerts. This year’s theme, Generosity through Music, reflects the
fundamental values of the great composer George Enescu and the George Enescu
Award he set up in 1913, describing new approaches in the field of social
engagement, education, training, inclusion and community-wide contribution,
specific to this artistic event. The Vienna Philharmonic, the Concertgebouw
Royal Orchestra of Amsterdam, the National Orchestra of France, the Tonhalle
Orchestra of Zurich, London Symphony Orchestra and the Czech Philharmonic
Orchestras are some of the renowned orchestras that will take part in the
festival, alongside such conductors as Cristian Măcelaru, the festival’s
artistic director, Zubin Mehta, Sir Simon Rattle, Wilson Hermanto, Paavo Jarvi,
Delyana Lazarova, Lawrence Foster or Vladimir Jurowski. The George Enescu
Festival has been held in Bucharest since 1958, honoring the memory and works
of the great Romanian composer, pianist, violinist and conductor George Enescu.

ROWING – Romanian
athletes Ilie Sprincean and Oleg Nuță ranked 6 in the
men’s double-canoe 500m race on Sunday at the 2023 ICF Canoe Sprint World
Championships hosted by Duisburg, Germany, which guarantees qualification to
the Paris Olympics next year. On Saturday, the two grabbed bronze in the men’s
double-canoe 1000m race. Romania grabbed 3 medals in the competition – Cătălin Chirilă grabbed
gold in the 500m race, silver in the 1000m race while Ilie Sprincean and Oleg Nuță won bronze in
the 1000m race. So far 10 Romanian athletes have secured qualification to the
Paris Olympics. (VP)

27 August 2023