North Macedonia nightclub fire claims more than 50 lives in Kocani

At least 59 people have been killed and more than 155 injured in a nightclub fire in North Macedonia, officials say.

The blaze broke out around 02:30 (01:30 GMT) at the Pulse club in Kocani, a town around 100km (60 miles) east of the capital, Skopje, where 1,500 people were attending a concert by DNK, a popular hip-hop duo in the country.

Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski called it a “difficult and very sad day” for the country, which had lost many “young lives”.

Police have blocked access to the nightclub as investigations are under way. In an update on Saturday afternoon, Interior Minister Pance Toskovski said the club did not have a legal license to operate.

Authorities are investigating allegations of corruption and bribery linked to the fire, Toskovski told reporters.

The venue has been described as an “improvised nightclub” in the local press, having previously been a carpet warehouse.

When the fire occurred, it had been staging a concert for DNK – a band formed in 2002, which has topped the North Macedonian charts over the past decade.

Citing initial reports, Toskovski said the fire had been started by sparks from pyrotechnic devices that had hit the ceiling, which was made of highly flammable material.

Footage shows the band playing on stage when two flares go off, after which sparks then catch fire on the ceiling before spreading rapidly.

Video verified by the BBC shows people trying to extinguish the flames on the ceiling. The footage shows the club was still full and some people appeared to be watching efforts to put out the fire rather than leaving.

Reports suggest there was only a single entry and exit point to the improvised nightclub, which caused panic.

Marija Taseva, 20, told Channel 5 TV she was caught in a crush at the club as people rushed for the exits. She recalled falling to the ground and being trampled during the chaos before managing to get out.

“I don’t know how, but somehow I managed to get out,” she told the Reuters news agency. “I’m fine now, but there are many dead.”

She added that her 25-year-old sister – who her family had previously been searching for – had died, saying: “I was saved and she wasn’t.”

Red Cross volunteer Mustafa Saidov said most of those affected were young people aged 18-20.

“The situation is brutal, chaotic, the stories are very sad, and unfortunately many young lives are lost,” he added.

Authorities have already said the deaths were “needless” and that those responsible would be held to account.

North Macedonia’s interior minister Toskovski said in an earlier update that 35 of the deceased had been identified at the time.

Kocani’s hospital director said earlier that staff had been struggling to identify patients due to a lack of ID cards.

She said that those deceased were aged between 14 and 24. Eighteen patients are said to be in critical condition.

The government has declared seven days of national mourning, and the government is holding an emergency session as part of ongoing investigations on how the incident unfolded.

Prime Minister Mickoski said the government was “fully mobilised and will do everything necessary to deal with the consequences and determine the causes of this tragedy”.

European leaders have voiced their condolences, with European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen saying the EU “stands in solidarity with the people of North Macedonia in this difficult time”.

Neighbouring Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic called it “a tragedy of immense magnitude”, adding that fears remain as “many more people will not be able to withstand the level of injuries they have at this moment”.

Additional reporting from Richard Irvine-Brown.

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