Officials said a fire broke out in North Macedonia in the early hours of Sunday, killing 59 people, apparently after setting up the site Ablaze after on-stage fireworks, the officials said, “arrest warrant for four people announced.
He said that 155 injured people were taken to hospitals across the country, 18 of them were in critical condition. Some serious cases for treatment were to be taken to other European countries.
The explosion began around 3:00 AM (0200 GMT) in the club Pulse in Eastern city of Kokani, as the location was packed with more than 1,000 young fans, which participated in a concert by a popular hip-hop pair called DNK.
“Initially we did not believe that there was a fire. Then there was a lot of panic in the crowd and a stampede to get out,” a young woman who was in a concert, told local media outside a hospital in the capital Scopje.
The fire crew and paramedics quickly responded and “tried to revive the people … but it was not enough”, the woman said, who was waiting out for a friend who was being treated to burn in her hand.
Internal Minister Pance Toskowski said the fire broke out due to the use of pyrotechnic devices, which had visited the scene with Prime Minister Histizan Mikoski.
“The sparks grabbed the roof, which was easily made of flammable material, after which the fire spread rapidly throughout the discotheques, which caused thick smoke,” Tokovski said.
The internal ministry announced that arrest warrants were issued for four people regarding the tragedy, and a criminal investigation was opened. He did not give much information about the people targeted by warrant immediately.
“According to the information we have, 59 persons are dead out of whom 35 are identified. Identified, 31 people are from Kokani and four are from Stip,” said Tokovsi.
“According to the latest information till the number of injured, the afternoon (1100 GMT), there are 155 persons who are in hospitals across the country,” said Tokovsi.
Angelov, head of the North Macedonia crisis center, said, “Preparations are being made to injured those seriously injured in the fire in Kokani in top hospitals in many European countries.”
Christina Serafimovska, head of Kokani Hospital, told the media that the patients being treated there were between 14 and 25.
“Seventy patients have irritation and carbon monoxide poisoning,” he said.
His sister told local media outlets that one of the members of the DNK pair, who performed, was burnt by Vladimir Blazev and needed help, his sister told the local media outlets.
– ‘Very sad day’ –
“This is a difficult and very sad day” for the country, Prime Minister Mikoski wrote on his Facebook account.
He said, “The loss of so many young life is irreparable, and the grief of their families, their loved ones and their friends is irreversible.”
Pope Francis sent prayers to the victims and the remaining people and wished “most of the families of the dead, the expression of their deep mourning, showing spiritual proximity to the injured, wished, the Vatican said in a message addressed to the scopze bishop.
The video posted on social networks and the video shot before the fire showed the use of the “stage fountain”, which is a type of indoor fireworks used during the performance.
Other videos published by the media showed huge fire flames from the building, which is a two -storey white structure in a city Kokani with 30,000 inhabitants.
An AFP photographer in the city noticed that military medical vehicles arrived at the local hospital to strengthen the staff, who were injured.
Leaders of neighboring countries offered help.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zeliazkov spoke of the fire being “a huge human tragedy” on Facebook and offered his Air Force to blow up some of the injured for medical facilities in Bulgarian capital Sophia and Varna city.
Greek Prime Minister Kirkos Mitsotachis said on X, “Earlier, Twitter, that he sent” hearty condolences to the people of Macedonia “to the people of Macedonia”.
“Greece is ready to help in this difficult time,” he said.
Albanian Prime Minister ED Ram said that he was “in a disadvantage” and readiness expressed “to provide any assistance”.
There were also messages from some parts of the European Union, with ambitions to join North Macedonia.
The European Union Foreign Policy Head, Kaza Kalas, said on X that she was “deeply sad about the tragic fire” and that “the European Union shares the grief and pain of the people of North Macedonia”.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is published by a syndicated feed.)
