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(CNN) — At least 27 people died and 162 were injured when a fire broke out at a nightclub in Bucharest, Romania, late Friday, authorities said.
Earlier, police had told CNN that 36 people had been killed.
There were 300 to 400 people in the Colectiv, a large room with a stage that easily accommodated a four-member band. The show included pyrotechnics, according to witnesses.
Antenna1 news anchor Alessandra Stoicescu said witnesses told her: "In a matter of seconds everything went from a flame to disaster."
She said people stampeded toward the one exit, but were blinded by heavy smoke.
A spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry, Monica Dajbog, said a prosecutor and fire specialists will investigate the scene and determine how the fire started, she said.
The injured were taken to 12 hospitals. Dajbog said many were in critical condition.
The Romanian metal band Goodbye to Gravity was having an album release concert, the group said on its social media pages.
Paul Angelescu, a reporter with ProTV, said the mayor told him the club had all the necessary permits for Friday's show, which was scheduled to begin at 9 p.m.
Romanian President Klaus Lohannis said he was "shocked and deeply saddened" by the news.
"It is a very sad moment for all of us, for our nation and for me personally," he said in a post to his Facebook page.
The fire appears to be the deadliest nightclub blaze since a 2013 fire at a nightclub in Santa Maria, Brazil, killed 235 people.
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