Updated

The latest on the fire in a Romanian nightclub that killed more than 30 people, and the political crisis it has set off. All times local.

12:30 p.m.

The mayor of the district in the Romanian capital where a nightclub fire that killed more than 30 is located has resigned, saying he is morally guilty for the deadliest fire in Romania's history.

Cristian Popescu Piedone told reporters Wednesday he would resign, adding "I assume the moral blame. As for the legal (blame) I will leave it to justice to pronounce."

Piedone came under pressure to step down following mass protests through the city Tuesday night, with demonstrators blaming widespread corruption for the deadly blaze on Friday night.

His resignation came about two hours after Prime Minister Victor Ponta said he and his government would resign following the protests Tuesday night. Piedone is a member of the National Union for the Progress of Romania, which is in the governing coalition.

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11 a.m.

Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta has announced the resignation of his government, following huge protests in the wake of a nightclub fire that killed more than 30 people.

"I'm handing in my mandate, I'm resigning, and implicitly my government too," Ponta said in a statement Wednesday. He said he would stay on until a new government is in place.

"I am obliged to take note of the legitimate grievances which exist in society," said Ponta. "I hope handing in my and my government's mandate will satisfy the demands of protesters."

Some 20,000 people took to the streets of Bucharest Tuesday evening in a spontaneous protest calling for the resignation of Ponta, Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea and a district mayor where the Colectiv nightclub was located.