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LAST UPDATE | 16 Mar
A FIRE TORE through a nightclub in North Macedonia overnight, killing 59 people, apparently after on-stage fireworks set the building ablaze.
Authorities have announced arrest warrants for four people as a result of the blaze.
They said 155 injured people had been taken to hospitals across the country, 22 of them in critical condition. Some of the serious cases were to be taken to other European countries for treatment.
Interior Minister Pance Toskovski said that more than 20 wounded and three of those killed in the fire were minors.
He said 15 people had been detained for questioning after a preliminary inspection revealed the club was operating without a proper licence. He said the number of people inside the club was at least double its official capacity of 250.
“We have grounds for suspicion that there is bribery and corruption in this case,” he told reporters without elaborating.
The blaze started in the Club Pulse in the eastern town of Kocani around 3am, as the place was packed with more than 1,000 mostly young fans attending a concert by a a popular hip-hop duo called DNK.
“Initially we didn’t believe there was a fire. Then there was huge panic in the crowd and a stampede to get out,” one young woman who was at the concert told local media outside a hospital in the capital Skopje.
Fire crews and paramedics responded quickly and “tried to resuscitate people… but it wasn’t enough”, said the woman, who was waiting outside for one her friends, who was being treated for burns to his hand.
The fire was probably caused by the use of pyrotechnic devices “used for light effects at the concert”, said Interior Minister Pance Toskovski, who visited the scene with the state’s prime minister.
“Sparks caught the ceiling, which was made of easily flammable material, after which the fire rapidly spread across the whole discotheque, creating thick smoke,” Toskovski said.
The interior ministry announced that arrest warrants had been issued for four people in relation to the tragedy, and a criminal investigation opened.
They did not immediately give further details about those targeted by the warrants.
Video of the incident shared on social media shows chaos inside the club, with young people running through the smoke as the musicians urged people to escape as quickly as possible.
The head of the Kocani hospital, Kristina Serafimovska, told media that most of those killed had suffered injuries from a “stampede” that occurred while people, panicked, tried to exit the building.
“Seventy of the patients have burns and carbon monoxide poisoning,” she said.
One of the members of the DNK duo that had performed, Vladimir Blazev, had burns to his face and needed assistance breathing, his sister told local media outlets.
Condolences have poured in from politicians across Europe, with the Tánaiste Simon Harris among those paying condolences to the victims.
“I was deeply shocked and saddened to hear of the devastating fire in a nightclub in Kočani, North Macedonia, which has claimed the lives of so many young people,” Harris said in a statement.
“I extend my deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones of the victims and to the people of North Macedonia.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“I wish those who were injured a speedy recovery,” Mr Zelensky wrote on X. “Ukraine mourns alongside our Macedonian friends on this sad day.”
Tragic news of a deadly fire in 🇲🇰Kochani. My condolences to the victims' families and loved ones, President @gogamkd, and the Macedonian people. I wish those who were injured a speedy recovery. Ukraine mourns alongside our Macedonian friends on this sad day.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 16, 2025
Officials said the injured have been taken to hospitals around the country, including the capital Skopje, many with severe burns.
Family members have gathered in front of hospitals and Kocani’s city offices begging authorities for more information.
Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski wrote on X that today was a “difficult and very sad day” for the country.
“The loss of so many young lives is irreparable, and the pain of the families, loved ones and friends is immeasurable,” Mickoski said.
“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.”
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