Fifty-nine people have been killed and more than 100 injured in a fire that broke out in a nightclub in North Macedonia early on Sunday.
The blaze in the small eastern town of Kočani is thought to have erupted when special-effect pyrotechnics caused the roof of the Pulse nightclub to go up in flames.
North Macedonia’s interior minister, Panche Toshkovski, informed reporters of the number of deaths after visiting the scene.
Toshkovski said the fire was probably caused by the use of pyrotechnic devices “used for light effect” at the concert taking place in the club. As they were set off, “the sparks caught the ceiling, which was made of easily flammable material, after which the fire rapidly spread across the whole discotheque, creating thick smoke”, he said.
Social media footage showed the blaze breaking out at about 3am when the venue was packed with concertgoers attending a performance by hip-hop act DNK, one of the tiny Balkan state’s most famous pop groups. Chaotic scenes ensued as people ran through the smoke while the musicians urged everyone to escape as quickly as possible.
More than 1,500 were attending the concert in Kočani, 60 miles east of the North Macedonian capital, Skopje.
In a written statement, the prime minister, Hristijan Mickoski, called the loss of so many young lives “irreparable”. As the scale of the tragedy became clear, Mickoski told the country that all forces had been “fully mobilised”.
“I call on all competent institutions – health services, police, local authorities – to take urgent measures to assist the injured and support the affected families,” he said in a statement posted to Facebook.
“In these times of deep sadness, when our hearts are broken with pain due to this terrible tragedy, I call for unity, solidarity, humanity and responsibility.”
The prime minister said he would make a public address on Sunday.
Police had arrested several people, the interior minister told the hastily convened press conference, although he refused to be drawn on the nature of their involvement in the disaster. “The most important thing is to find out all the facts and evidence necessary for the follow-up measures,” he said. “We must remain calm while taking all these steps so that something like this doesn’t happen again.”
By mid-morning relatives were gathering at hospitals in Kočani and Skopje, to where victims had been rushed.
The state’s health minister, Arben Taravari, said 118 people had been admitted to hospital. At least 27 people with severe burns had been admitted to the capital’s main hospital while another 23 were being treated at Skopje’s clinical centre, according to North Macedonia’s public broadcaster MRT. Children were also reported to be among the injured.
“All our capabilities have been put to use in a maximum effort to save as many lives as possible of the young people involved in this tragedy,” Taravari told reporters, at times looking visibly shaken. Neighbouring countries including Greece, Bulgaria and Albania had been quick to offer assistance, he said.
Markos Trosanovski, a political commentator in Skopje, said the entire nation had been plunged “into profound shock over this tragedy”.
While it was clear that the nightclub was well over capacity at the time of the concert, the government had responded immediately to the disaster, he said. “The response on the part of the authorities has been instant,” he said.
“But there were institutional failures,” he said, adding: “It appears there were not enough fire extinguishers which would have been necessary for it to have been granted a licence.”
In a post on X, the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, wrote: “Heartfelt condolences to the people of North Macedonia for the lives lost in the tragic fire in Kočani. My thoughts are with the victims and their families, and I wish a speedy recovery to the injured. Greece stands ready to assist in this difficult time.”
The European commissioner for enlargement, Marta Kos, also expressed her condolences on the platform, writing: “Deeply saddened by the tragic fire in Kočani North Macedonia, which claimed the lives of too many young people.”
In a further show of support from the EU, António Costa, president of the European Council, announced that the 27-member bloc “stands in solidarity with the people of North Macedonia in this moment of grief”.
“Heartbroken by the loss of so many young people in the terrible fire … My thoughts go out to all the families of the victims of this tragedy,” he said in a statement posted on X.
