A massive fire that broke out in an illegal nightclub in North Macedonia early on Sunday has killed at least 59 young people aged 14 to 24.
Government ministers have blamed the fire — in which a further 155 people were injured — on high level bribery and corruption, as they issued arrest warrants for a former minister and senior North Macedonian officials.
The fire broke out at 2.35am local time, as DNK, a popular local hip-hop band, played to a packed house at the Pulse discotheque in the eastern town of Kocani. At least three band members died in the blaze.
Video showed flares, known as stage “fountains” or “jets”, set fire to the ceiling as band members and patrons tried to put the blaze out with fire extinguishers.
The fire was allegedly caused by stage pyrotechnics
Video showed the band DNK playing and flares seeming to set the ceiling on fire, top left
A voice can be heard on a microphone shouting “everyone get out” as chaos erupted inside the nightclub when 1,500 young people, including many minors, tried to flee.
Andrej Gjorgievski, one of DNK’s lead singers, died of his injuries in hospital. Gjorgi Gjorgiev, the band’s drummer was also killed, as were Sara Projkovska, a backing vocalist, and Aleksandar Efremov, the band’s photographer.
Another band frontman, Vladimir Blazev who was known as Pancho DNK, was seriously injured and hospitalised for burns.
As relatives gathered outside hospitals to await news, Dragi Stojanov, a Kocani resident, was informed that his 21-year-old son Tomce had died in the fire.
“He was my only child. I don’t need my life anymore,” he said, adding that children had been “burnt beyond recognition”.
Marija Taseva, 22, a survivor, told the local TV 5 broadcaster, that “everyone was trying to save themselves”. She said she was trampled in a stampede to get out and became separated from her sister, who is still missing. “We can’t find her in any hospital,” she said.
As dawn broke on Sunday, desperate parents were searching for their children using photos on social media. Locals helped out by transporting some of the seriously injured people to hospital in their cars.
Family members gathered in front of hospitals where the many of the injured were being treated for burns and smoke inhalation. Eighteen of the wounded were said to be in critical condition and at least 27 victims were treated in neighbouring Greece and Bulgaria as hospitals were overwhelmed.
Among the dead was a police officer who was part of a drug operation in the club.
News video this morning showed the Pulse nightclub in ruins after the fire
GEORGI LICOVSKI/EPA
Hristijan Mickoski, the country’s prime minister, said: “This is a difficult and very sad day for Macedonia. The loss of so many young lives is irreparable, and the pain of the families, loved ones and friends is immeasurable. The people and the government will do everything in their power to at least slightly alleviate their pain and help them in these most difficult moments.”
News video showed the nightclub in ruins after the fire. Kocani is home to about 30,000 people and is about 60 miles east the capital, Skopje.
Pance Toskovski, the interior minister, said the fire was caused by “pyrotechnic devices” and that the investigation would focus on “bribery and corruption” surrounding the club.
“Today Macedonia is crying, but there will be responsibility for each and every one of the corrupt, irresponsible and each and every one who has a direct or indirect influence on the occurrence of this event,” he said.
Most victims were aged 14 to 24. Locals followed ambulances in their cars to help transport seriously injured people to hospitals.
Police have arrested the nightclub’s owner and a team of five prosecutors has been appointed to investigate the blaze, issuing 20 arrest warrants, including for former senior officials. An emergency cabinet meeting is expected to order “an urgent and extraordinary inspection of all nightclubs, discotheques and restaurants that organise parties”.
Investigators found that the club in an old building that was previously a carpet warehouse did not have a legal operating licence.
“Dozens of young lives were lost in a fire that should never have happened. This is not just a tragedy — this is an alarm that demands responsibility,” Igor Filkov, the North Macedonian justice minister, said.
“There are no words for this pain but there must be justice. Everyone who failed will be held accountable. This must never happen again.”
In April last year a blaze at the Masquerade nightclub in Istanbul killed 29 people during renovation work. In October 2023, a fire that started at a nightclub in the southeastern Spanish city of Murcia left 13 people dead.
The worst recent European nightclub fire was a blaze that killed 64 people after a rock band’s pyrotechnic display in the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest, Romania, in 2015.