North Macedonia: 15 held after nightclub fire kills 59, seven-day mourning declared

North Macedonia has proclaimed a seven-day mourning period following a nightclub fire that killed at least 59 people and injured dozens more, as officials detained 15 individuals for interrogation and the interior minister said a preliminary assessment found the club was operating without a formal licence.

According to officials, 59 people were killed after a fire broke out at an overcrowded nightclub early on Sunday, presumably as a result of pyrotechnics let off on stage during a hip-hop concert.

According to authorities, 22 of the 155 persons hurt in the fire were in severe condition when they were transported to hospitals throughout the nation.  Hospitals in adjacent Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, and Croatia received some of the most severe patients.

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According to Interior Minister Pance Toskovski, three of the deceased and over 20 injured were children.

“At the time of the event around 500 people were inside, while 250 tickets were sold,” he said.

According to him, over 20 persons were being investigated, 15 of them were being held by the police, while other people who could have been involved were being treated in hospitals.

The blaze started in the Club Pulse in the eastern town of Kocani, which was packed with mostly young fans attending a concert by a popular hip-hop duo called DNK.

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One of DNK’s singers, Andrej Gjorgjieski, was killed and the other, Vladimir Blazev, was injured, while a guitarist, a drummer and a back-up singer also died.

“The fire started around 2:30 am (0130 GMT), the sparklers that were on stage ignited the styrofoam on the ceiling. I heard an explosion and the roof collapsed,” one young person who attended the concert told local media.

“We all rushed to get out, we all ran towards one door that was for both entry and exit,” they were quoted as saying.

The fire was probably caused by pyrotechnic devices “used for lighting effects at the concert,” said 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.

At a later press conference Toskovski said that the authorities were investigating whether “corruption” and “bribery” were linked to the deadly nightclub fire.

“This company does not have a legal license,” he said, referring to the club.

“This license, as many other things in Macedonia in the past, is connected to bribery and corruption. In this case, those involved in illegal issuance of license have names and will be held responsible,” he added.

After calling for a minute of silence to honor the victims and sending condolences to the families, prime minister Hristijan Mickoski said the club had falsified its license and that all involved will face responsibility.

He said inspectors will check all licenses for buildings in the country, and that “I am convinced that we will find hundreds” that were issued illegally.

“This is the culmination of one bad, broken system that eats away at our hopes and our dreams. Either we will beat it, or it will beat us”, he added.

More than 20 people were under investigation over the blaze, 15 of whom were already in police custody, while others were in hospital, the interior minister said earlier.

The list of suspects include the owner of the club, the organizer of the event, and people responsible for security.

A former director of the rescue services and a state secretary at the economy ministry were among those detained, he said.

The head of the Kocani hospital, Kristina Serafimovska, told media that “most of the dead suffered injuries from the stampede that occurred in the panic while trying to exit”.

“Seventy of the patients have burns and carbon monoxide poisoning,” she said.

‘Let us unite’

The government proclaimed a seven-day mourning period and ordered flags lowered.

“Let us unite our forces, let us not allow anyone else to sacrifice standards for profit, nothing is more valuable than the lives of young people,” North Macedonia’s president Gordana Siljanovska said.

Pope Francis sent prayers to the victims and survivors, the Vatican said in a message addressed to the bishop of Skopje, Kiro Stojanov.

Videos posted on social networks and shot before the fire showed there were “stage fountains” set up – a type of indoor fireworks used during performances.

Other videos showed huge flames emerging from the building, a two-storey white structure in Kocani, a town with 30,000 residents.

An AFP photographer in the town saw military medical vehicles arrive to reinforce staff at the local hospital tending to some of the injured.

Leaders of neighbouring countries sent condolences.

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said on X that she was “deeply saddened about the tragic fire” and that “the EU shares the grief and pain of the people of North Macedonia”.