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At least 51 dead, dozens more injured in nightclub fire in North Macedonia.
A massive fire that broke out early Sunday in a nightclub in North Macedonia’s southern town of Kocani has killed 51 people and injured about 100 more, interior minister Panche Toshkovski told a press conference.
The blaze began around 2:35 a.m. during a concert by a local pop group, according to Toshkovski. He said the young clubgoers used pyrotechnics that caused the roof to catch fire. Video on social media shows chaos inside.
Family members have gathered in front of hospitals and Kocani’s city offices begging authorities for more information.
Toshkovski said police have arrested one man, but didn’t provide details on the person’s involvement.
The blaze is said to have started around 03:00 (02:00 GMT) at the Pulse club in Kocani, a town around 100 km (60 miles) east of the capital, Skopje. Footage posted on social media shows the building engulfed in flames.
As many as 1,500 were said to have been attending a concert by the band DNK, a hip-hop duo popular in the country.
Interior Minister Pance Toskovski said that according to initial reports, the fire started from sparks caused by pyrotechnic devices.
He told reporters in front of the Kocani police station that sparks then hit the ceiling made of highly flammable material, before the fire spread through the club. He said some arrests had been made.
Footage shows sparks from the stage catching on the ceiling before rapidly spreading.
Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski wrote in a statement on Facebook that the government was “fully mobilised and will do everything necessary to deal with the consequences and determine the causes of this tragedy”
He called it “difficult and very sad day” for the country which has now lost “so many” young lives.
The hospital in Kocani initially reported 90 admissions, with many suffering severe burns. Some of the injured have since been transferred to hospitals in Skopje for further treatment.
