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BBC News
20-03-2025
- BBC News
Thousands gather to mourn North Macedonia nightclub fire dead
Thousands have gathered at cemeteries across North Macedonia for the funerals of dozens of people killed in a nightclub fire on blaze tore through the small Pulse club in the town of Kocani, killing 59 and injuring scores say the club illegally obtained its licence, that it lacked sprinklers, and that the venue was a converted carpet warehouse, whose single emergency exit was locked at the time of the than 20 people have been detained, including government officials, police officers and the manager of the club, as anger has grown. Funerals took place across the country on Thursday for the dead. The funeral procession in Kocani was long - and understandably sombre. This small town of fewer than 30,000 people lost dozens of its young mourners held portrait photographs of the people they had lost. Some teenagers tried to hide their tears behind sunglasses, but others wept dead were buried side-by-side in Kocani's cemetery. An Orthodox Church service was to Skopje, around 1,000 people gathered for the funeral of Andrej Gorgieski, a 43-year-old singer in the band DNK that was performing at the club when the fire broke out. While the day is for mourning, anger is growing over corrupt practices that allowed the Pulse nightclub to against corruption have taken place across the country this Monday, some in Kocani even vandalised a pub which they said the Pulse nightclub owner had also run. Others threw rocks and smashed windows at the mayor's office the same night. The anger and the grief have prompted government inspections of cafes and nightclubs across North Macedonia for any possible safety violations. Investigators have now named all 59 people killed in the blaze - most of them teenagers and young people. The deadly fire began around 02:30 local time (01:30 GMT) on Sunday and spread rapidly as the ceiling was made of flammable material, Interior Minister Pance Toskovski said earlier this said there were 500 people inside the venue at the time, well over capacity for the 250 tickets sold, and that there were "grounds for suspicion that there is bribery and corruption" linked to the than 160 people were injured in the blaze, including 45 suffering very serious injuries. Many were flown to hospitals in neighbouring Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia and Turkey for specialist treatment.
BBC News
17-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Nightclub fire: Protesters vent fury after North Macedonia disaster
Thousands of people have protested in the North Macedonian town of Kocani, demanding justice and action against corruption after a nightclub fire killed 59 people, many of them teenagers."Nobody should die like that – nobody," a teenage boy told the BBC. "Those kids, they had a future, they had talents."The Pulse nightclub was packed with fans watching DNK, a popular hip-hop band, when sparks from flares apparently set a patch of ceiling 20 people have been detained for questioning over the disaster, including the nightclub owner and some former government ministers. Many in Kocani believe that corruption had allowed the improvised venue to operate with inadequate safety of children who are still missing have been queueing outside a hospital to give DNA samples to help with identification. Kocani, a town of about 25,000 people, lies some 100km (60 miles) east of the capital, than 160 people were injured in the blaze, including 45 suffering very serious injuries. Many of them have been flown to hospitals in neighbouring Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia and Turkey for specialist the protest rally, the uncle of a 19-year-old man who died said "those scenes should never be repeated". "When there was a war here, it wasn't as bad as that. So many young people have died."After a long time standing in silence the crowd started chanting "we are asking for justice!"Mourners lit candles, hugged and cried, and wrote messages of condolence in the central square. A group of teenagers targeted a bar, smashing windows and ransacking it, believing it to belong to the Pulse club owner. The deadly fire began around 02:30 local time (01:30 GMT) on Sunday and spread rapidly as the ceiling was made of flammable material, Interior Minister Pance Toskovski said. He said there are "grounds for suspicion that there is bribery and corruption" linked to the were 500 people inside the venue at the time, well over capacity for the 250 tickets sold, he say the club's licence had been obtained illegally and the venue was a converted carpet warehouse, whose single emergency exit was locked at the time. There were just two fire extinguishers and no fire alarm or sprinkler system, state prosecutor Ljupco Kocevski said.A civic group in North Macedonia has called for people across the country to gather in city centres on Tuesday.
Saudi Gazette
17-03-2025
- Saudi Gazette
Ten detained after North Macedonia nightclub fire kills 59
KOCANI — Police have detained 10 people after a fire at a nightclub in North Macedonia killed at least 59 people, officials have told the BBC. The blaze broke out around 02:30 local time (01:30 GMT) on Sunday at the Pulse club in Kocani, where about 500 people had gathered for a concert by DNK, a popular hip-hop duo in the country. Only one member of the band survived and was being treated in hospital, a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office told the BBC's Newshour. In total, 155 were injured at the concert. Biljana Arsovska said short-term detentions had been issued for 10 suspects believed to be responsible for the fire — including "officials from the ministries which gave out this license". Interior Minister Pance Toskovski said on Sunday afternoon the venue did not have a legal licence to operate, while police are looking into whether bribery and corruption were linked to the fire. The venue, in a town around 100km (60 miles) east of the capital, Skopje, has been described as an "improvised nightclub" in the local press, having previously been a carpet warehouse. Ms Arsovska said there had been only "one efficient exit" in the building, as the venue's back door was locked and could not be used. The first on-site inspections on Sunday also showed several "abnormalities" in the venue. "There are deficiencies in the system for fire-extinguishing and the system for lightning," she said. 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 — which formed in 2002 and has topped the North Macedonian charts over the past decade — playing on stage when two flares go off, after which sparks 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 the fact there was only a single entry and exit point to the improvised nightclub 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 to 20. Officials say more than 20 of the injured and three of those killed were under 18. "The situation is brutal, chaotic, the stories are very sad, and unfortunately many young lives are lost," Mr Saidov added. Dr Vladislav Gruev, a specialist in reconstructive and plastic surgery at the University Clinic for Surgical Diseases in the capital, told the BBC most of the patients being treated at his hospital arrived with extensive burns. "[They have] second and third degree burns in the head, neck and upper torso," he said. Kocani's hospital director earlier said that staff had initially been struggling to identify patients due to a lack of ID cards. Eighteen patients were assessed as being in a critical condition. Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski called it a "difficult and very sad day" for the country, which had lost many "young lives". 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. North Macedonia's President, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, said she was shocked "as a mother, as a person, as a president". Addressing the bereaved directly, she added: "Your immense pain is mine too." "No business or activity can function without standards and rules," she wrote in a statement. "Let us not allow anyone to endanger the lives of innocent people again." Siljanovska-Davkova added that the most seriously injured were being taken to receive treatment in specialist clinics in Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia and Turkey. 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". Neighboring 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". — BBC
Dubai Eye
17-03-2025
- Dubai Eye
59 dead and 100 injured in North Macedonia nightclub fire
59 people were killed and more than 100 injured when a fire broke out in a nightclub early on Sunday in the North Macedonian town of Kocani, Interior Minister Pance Toskovski confirmed, saying the fire was caused by "pyrotechnic devices" used during a concert. "Sparks caused fire … and fire spread through the discotheque," he said. A video from the event, verified by Reuters, shows a band playing on stage flanked by two flares firing white sparks into the air. The sparks set the ceiling alight above the band, who appear to step away as the video cuts. Firefighters doused the charred and smoking entrance to the club, named 'Pulse,' TV footage from a local broadcaster showed. North Macedonia's MRT public broadcaster reported that 27 people were hospitalised at the Skopje City Hospital with severe burns, and another 23 were being treated at the Clinical Center. Among the injured were minors, it said. The blaze broke out at 3:00 a.m. in Kocani. Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said in a post on Facebook: "This is a difficult and very sad day for Macedonia! The loss of so many young lives is irreparable, the pain of the families, loved ones and friends is immeasurable." "I call on all competent institutions – health services, relevant authorities – to take urgent measures to assist the injured and support the families of the families."
Arab News
16-03-2025
- Arab News
59 dead in North Macedonia nightclub fire
SKOPJE: A fire tore through a nightclub in North Macedonia early Sunday, killing 59 people, apparently after on-stage fireworks set the place ablaze, authorities said, announcing arrest warrants for four people. They said 155 injured people had been taken to hospitals across the country, 18 of them in critical condition. Some of the serious cases were to be taken to other European countries for treatment. The blaze started in the Club Pulse in the eastern town of Kocani, as the place was packed with more than 1,000 mostly young fans attending a concert by 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 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 of 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 Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski. '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. 'There are 59 persons deceased of which 35 are identified. Of the identified, 31 persons are from Kocani and four from Stip,' Toskovski said. 'The number of wounded, according to latest information up to noon, is 155 persons who are in hospitals across the country,' Toskovski said. 'Preparations are being made to transport people seriously injured in the fire in Kocani to top hospitals in several European countries,' the head of North Macedonia's Crisis Center, Stojanche Angelov, said. The head of the Kocani hospital, Kristina Serafimovska, told media that the patients being treated there were aged between 14 and 25. '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. 'This is a difficult and very sad day' for the country, Mickoski wrote on his Facebook account. 'The loss of so many young lives is irreparable, and the grief of their families, their loved ones and their friends is immeasurable,' he said.
