North Macedonia nightclub fire claims more than 50 lives in Kocani town

No less than 59 folks have been killed and more than 155 injured in a nightclub fire in North Macedonia, officers say.

The blaze broke out round 02:30 (01:30 GMT) on the Pulse membership in Kocani, a town round 100 km (60 miles) east of the capital, Skopje.

As many as 1,500 folks had been attending a live performance by DNK, a well-liked hip-hop duo in the nation, when the fire began. Footage posted on social media exhibits the roof of the constructing engulfed in flames.

Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski referred to as it a “troublesome and really unhappy day” for the nation which had now misplaced so many “younger lives.”

Inside Minister Pance Toskovski mentioned preliminary reviews steered the fire began from sparks brought on by pyrotechnic gadgets.

Talking exterior the Kocani police station, he mentioned the sparks had hit the ceiling, which was manufactured from extremely flammable materials.

Footage exhibits the band enjoying on stage when two flares go off, sparks then catch fire on the ceiling earlier than quickly spreading.

Video verified by the BBC exhibits folks making an attempt to extinguish the flames on the ceiling. It exhibits the membership was nonetheless full and other people seemed to be watching efforts to place out the fire, relatively than leaving.

Marija Taseva, 20, advised Channel 5 TV she was caught in a crush on the membership as folks rushed for the exits. She mentioned she fell to the bottom and was trampled in the chaos earlier than managing to get out.

Her household had been nonetheless trying to find her 25-year-old sister, although, who had not been discovered in any native hospital – and will have been transferred to Skopje for remedy.

Kocani’s hospital initially acquired 90 sufferers struggling extreme burns.

The well being minister mentioned 18 remained in important situation.

Kocani’s hospital director Kristina Serafimova advised native media that workers had struggled to determine sufferers because of a scarcity of ID playing cards. Nonetheless she went on to say that these deceased had been aged between of 14 and 24.

In an announcement, the prime minister mentioned the federal government was “absolutely mobilised and can do the whole lot essential to cope with the implications and decide the causes of this tragedy.”

One man has been arrested, the inside minister mentioned with out offering additional particulars.

DNK was shaped in 2002 and has topped the charts over the previous decade.