Toll in Romania club fire rises to 44

The death toll in last month's club fire in Romania rose to 44 on Sunday, with a dozen of the injured succumbing in the last 24 hours.

Authorities said NATO and Romanian military aircraft would transport those seriously injured for treatment abroad.

Some 100 injured people were still being treated in Romanian hospitals, where half of them were in serious or critical condition, Xinhua quoted the authorities as saying.

A NATO military aircraft will take more than 10 patients to hospitals in Britain, while Romanian Air Force will transport some of the seriously injured to Norway, Finland and Hungary for further treatment, the Defence Ministry announced on Sunday.

Several injured have already been sent to the Netherlands and Belgium.

The October 30 nightclub fire was the deadliest incident in a public place that Romania has seen in decades.

As many as 26 people died in the fire and one died shortly after being taken to hospital.

The incident soon sparked a political crisis. Prime Minister Victor Ponta announced his resignation on Wednesday in the wake of massive demonstrations that demanded political responsibility for the tragedy.

Currently, political prospects remained uncertain in the country, as the ruling coalition, led by Social Democrats, hopes to form a new government as soon as possible in accordance with constitutional procedures.

The main opposition National Liberal Party has called for the resignation of all lawmakers in order to dissolve parliament and prepare for early elections.