Autopsies begin on victims of Romanian nightclub fire; dozens of injured struggle with burns

People cast shadows on a wall as they wait to light candles and lay flowers outside the compound that housed the nightclub where a fire occurred in the early morning hours in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2015. Hundreds of young people had gone clubbing at the hip Colectiv nightclub Friday night to enjoy a free concert by the Goodbye to Gravity metal band but the evening ended in horror, as the inferno caused a panic that killed tens of people and injured many others.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) (The Associated Press)

People stand by burning candles outside the compound that housed a nightclub where a fire occurred in the early Saturday in Bucharest, Romania, to pay respects to the victims, marking 24 hours after the accident Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015. Flames spread quickly through the crowded basement club, trapping many and triggering a stampede, making it the deadliest nightclub blaze in Romanian history. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) (The Associated Press)

People, lit by burning candles, stand outside the compound that housed a nightclub where a fire occurred in the early Saturday in Bucharest, Romania, to pay respects to the victims, marking 24 hours after the accident Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015. Flames spread quickly through the crowded basement club, trapping many and triggering a stampede, making it the deadliest nightclub blaze in Romanian history. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) (The Associated Press)

Forensic experts are carrying out the first autopsies of victims of a nightclub fire in the Romanian capital, where 27 people were killed and 180 injured.

The national prosecutors' office said autopsies would be conducted Sunday on the bodies of some of those who died as they fled a fire and ended up in a panicked stampede Friday night toward the only door in the basement nightclub Colectiv in downtown Bucharest.

Witnesses say the fire erupted after a spark on stage from a heavy metal pyrotechnics show ignited foam decor.

Some 146 people are still hospitalized around the Romanian capital. Doctors say 35 of them are in serious condition.

Authorities are still collecting evidence from the scene.

On Saturday, the government decreed three days of mourning.