Sunday 16 / March / 2025
Kocani: The death toll from a fire in a nightclub in the North Macedonian town of Kocani early on Sunday morning has risen to at least 59, with dozens more injured.
More than a thousand mostly young people were attending a concert by DNK, a popular hip-hop duo, when the fire broke out, the state news agency MIA reported.
"According to the information that we have there are 59 persons deceased, of which 35 are identified," Interior Minister Pance Toskovski said at the scene in Kocani.
He said four people had been arrested in connection with the incident, updating an earlier figure of just one.
He said previously that the fire had been started by pyrotechnics used by clubgoers.
According to online media outlet SDK, the fire started at around 3 a.m. (0200 GMT).
It cited rescue sources as saying more than 100 people were also injured in the blaze.
Local media said the blaze quickly spread to the ceiling and roof of the club, identified by MIA as the "Pulse" discotheque.
Accusations of disregard for building regulations
According to the head of DW'S Macedonian Service in Skopje, Boris Georgievski, many people have now said on social media that the catastrophe was just waiting to happen, accusing authorities and companies of largely disregarding construction regulations in North Macedonia.
He said the the building in which the "Pulse" discotheque in Kochani operated was a very old structure and obviously completely unsuitable for such a purpose.
Previously, the building, located near a residential building in Kocani, was a carpet warehouse, he said, adding that despite this, the building had received a permit from the municipality to be a discotheque.
'A very sad day for Macedonia'
North Macedonia's prime minister, Hristijan Mickoski. wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that it was "a difficult and very sad day for Macedonia."
"The loss of so many young lives is irreparable, and the pain of the families, loved ones and friends is immeasurable," he wrote, adding: "The people and the government will do everything in their power to at least slightly alleviate their pain and help them in these most
difficult moments."
Kocani is located some 100 km (60 miles) to the east of the capital, Skopje, and has a population of around 30,000.
