59 dead and more than 150 injured in nightclub fire in North Macedonia

KOCANI, North Macedonia (AP) — A massive fire tore through a nightclub in North Macedonia 's eastern town of Kocani early Sunday, killing 59 people and injuring 155, authorities said.

The blaze broke out around 2:30 a.m. during a concert by a local pop group at Club Pulse, Interior Minister Panche Toshkovski told reporters. He said 39 of the dead had so far been identified.

He said, following an initial assessment, pyrotechnics likely caused the roof to catch fire. Videos showed chaos inside the club, with young people running through the smoke as the musicians urged people to escape as quickly as possible.

As relatives gathered outside hospitals to await news, Kocani resident Dragi Stojanov 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. “One hundred and fifty families have been devastated.”

Officials said the injured have been taken to hospitals around the country, including the capital, Skopje, many with severe burns. The effort was being assisted by multiple volunteer organizations.

Health Minister Arben Taravari said 118 people have been hospitalized, adding that he had received offers of assistance from neighboring countries, including Albania, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia.

“All our capabilities have been put to use, in a maximum effort to save as many lives as possible of the young people involved in this tragedy,” Taravari told reporters, at times looking visibly shaken.

This is the worst tragedy in recent memory to befall the landlocked nation, whose population is less than 2 million.

President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova visited burn victims at a hospital in Skopje and spoke to parents waiting outside the building.

“It's terrible ... hard to believe how this happened,” she said, her voice halting with emotion. “We must give these young people courage to continue.”

In an online post, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski wrote: "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.”

Family members gathered in front of hospitals and city offices in Kocani, some 115 kilometers (72 miles) east of Skopje, begging authorities for more information.

The club was in an old building that was previously a carpet warehouse and has been running for several years, according to local media MKD.

The fire caused the roof of the single-story building to partially collapse, revealing the charred remains of wooden beams and debris. Police cordoned off the site and sent in evidence gathering teams in an operation also involving state prosecutors.

A state prosecutor, Ljubco Kocevski, said several people were being questioned by police but gave no further details and stressed that the cause of the blaze was still being investigated.

Interior ministry officials said authorities would investigate the venue’s licensing and safety provisions, adding that the government had a “moral responsibility” to help prosecute anyone responsible. Police have arrested one man already, but he didn't provide details on the person's involvement.

As they awoke to news of the overnight tragedy, the country’s immediate neighbors and leaders from further afield in Europe sent condolences.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, posted on X that she was “deeply saddened” and said the 27-nation bloc “shares the grief and pain of the people of North Macedonia.” North Macedonia is a candidate for EU membership.

Condolences also poured in from politicians across the region, including Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama, the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“I wish those who were injured a speedy recovery. Ukraine mourns alongside our (North) Macedonian friends on this sad day,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.

Pyrotechnics have often been the cause of deadly fires in nightclubs, including the one at the Colectiv club in Bucharest, Romania, in 2015 in which 64 people died.

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Testorides reported from Skopje, North Macedonia. AP writers from across Europe contributed.