In Romania, corruption and incompetence is costing lives

Over the course of two years, a man in Crevedia, a village about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) northwest of the Romanian capital, Bucharest, complained to every authority in the locality about a strong smell of gas in his yard.

His complaints fell on deaf ears — until last Saturday, August 26, when the fire service, the police and numerous ambulances all finally came to his street.

But for the man in question, it was too late. He had just suffered a fatal heart attack after seeing his wife catch fire following a massive explosion in the yard next door. His wife sustained severe burns and died in hospital the following day.

For years, a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) station had been operating in the yard next to the couple's house.

The station had lost its operating license in 2020 after the relevant authorities established during an inspection that it wasn't operating in compliance with safety regulations.

But the owners simply closed the gates and carried on as before, using improvised pumps to fill their customers' cars and gas cylinders for private heating systems.

Massive explosions, fire killed 3

Last Saturday evening, gas leaking from one of these improvised pumps caught fire. First a tanker exploded, then the flames spread to other pressurized gas tanks in the yard. No one knows the exact cause of the blaze.

Three people were killed and over 50 injured in the blasts. Most of them were members of the rescue services — firefighters, ambulance staff and police officers — who rushed to the scene after the alarm was raised. 

Some sustained burns so serious that they were flown to special clinics abroad for treatment.

The blaze in Crevedia reminded many Romanians of the fire that ripped through the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest after a pyrotechnics display during a concert in October 2015.

Sixty-five people died in the blaze — most of them young people — and about 150 were injured. The government of Social Democrat Prime Minister Victor Ponta was forced to resign after massive protests.

A preventable tragedy — and not the only one

Sadly, the tragedy isn't a one-off. Over and over again, cases like the explosion in Crevedia have caused anger and outrage in Romania.

What happened in Crevedia is symptomatic of so many incidents in Romania, where state authorities are prevented from doing their jobs properly and professionally by corruption, politicization, party intrigue, nepotism, incompetence and indifference.

In Romania, houses have burned to the ground because the roads leading up to them were so badly designed that they were too narrow for fire trucks.

Ambulances often take three times as long as the expected response time to arrive at the scene of an incident because many of the roads leading to remote villages, supposedly paved with asphalt, turn out to be virtually impassable tracks or forest paths.

In some cases, the asphalt earmarked for these tracks was used to pave the roads leading to the luxury homes of the well-connected village elite.

Accusations of incompetence in the health sector

Patients in Romanian hospitals have died after their wounds became infected by dangerous germs found in the walls of their hospital rooms or wards, or because they were ignored by the staff who were supposed to be looking after them.

In mid-August, for example, a 25-year-old mother of three died in such circumstances in a hospital in Botosani, a city about 450 kilometers north of Bucharest. The woman, who was three months pregnant, was admitted to hospital in the evening with pains. She was bleeding heavily.

Seven hours later, she was dead. No one had come to her assistance during the night. "I can't breathe anymore!" was the last message she sent to her family.

Doctors and hospital staff have blamed each other, and the public prosecutor's office has opened an investigation.

Just a few weeks earlier, in July, a young, heavily pregnant woman was refused admission to a hospital in Urziceni, 60 kilometers east of Bucharest. She gave birth to her child on the path leading to the clinic. In this case, there are suspicions that both negligence and discrimination was involved: The woman is a member of the Roma minority.

Investigative journalists uncover scandals

The Romanian press was recently full of reports about the case of an intoxicated young driver who crashed into a group of young tourists at a Black Sea resort. Two people were killed, and several were admitted to hospital with injuries.

The driver had been stopped twice by police officers, all of whom ignored the obvious signs that he was on drugs. No drug test was carried out, and he was allowed to drive on. Journalists are now trying to establish how this could have happened.

Journalists in Romania regularly uncover incidents of corruption and incompetence. Six months ago, Romania was left reeling by reports of elderly people with special needs being kept in appalling conditions in what were dubbed "horror care homes."

Several of these "homes" had received generous political funding, but according to journalists, the money was siphoned off by those running the homes instead of being spent on the elderly residents' care.

In many cases, the homes are either informed well in advance of the date of inspections, or inspections are only carried out "on paper."

Everyone knows about the appalling conditions, but no one does anything to stop it. Until, that is, the press starts reporting on it. Then there is outrage, a few people resign and the dust settles — until it happens all over again.

Political deals may have played a role in Crevedia

In the case of Crevedia, although seven state institutions were aware of the irregularities that led to the withdrawal of the station's license, business at the station continued to flourish.

Three years ago, the father of the station's main owner, a member of the ruling Social Democrats, was made mayor of a city in southern Romania.

Since then, the revenues of his son's company have multiplied thanks to generous deals with public institutions. This is an example of an old recipe for success in Romania's highly politicized business world: state contracts are awarded to relations of politicians who win elections, or are appointed to senior posts.

State institutions avoid inspecting such companies to make sure business is not disrupted. Frequently, those who are supposed to be doing the inspections are former staff members of influential politicians.

All of this creates networks of mutual dependence, mutual protection, mutual benefit. Unlawful actions go unprosecuted; those responsible are not brought to justice.

Very often, tragedies in Romania happen at the end of a long, knotted chain of corruption. Those involved are convinced that their deeds will never be uncovered.

Faced with a state that doesn't seem to be doing its job — or at least closes its eyes to corruption and incompetence — they feel secure and unassailable. Some observers have even spoken of "the complicity of the state" and "mafia structures in state institutions."

This explains why for many people in Romania, one thing is certain after last weekend's catastrophe: It won't be the last.

This article was originally written in German and adapted by Aingeal Flanagan.