North Macedonia nightclub fire kills at least 59, wounds more than 150
SKOPJE
A fire that tore through a nightclub in North Macedonia killed 59 revellers attending a hip-hop concert at the venue, with more than 150 wounded, the country's interior minister said on Sunday.
The fire broke out in "Pulse," a nightclub in the eastern town of Kocani, where more than 1,000 mostly young fans had crammed in to see the hip-hop duo DNK popular in the country.
"According to the data we have by now, 51 persons lost their lives," interior minister Pance Toskovski said after visiting the scene.
"More than 100 persons are injured," Toskovski said, adding that the wounded had been transported to the local hospital in the town as well as to the capital Skopje and the town of Stip some 30 kilometres (20 miles) to the south.
The concert kicked off around midnight, while online media outlet SDK, reported that the fire started at 3 am (0200 GMT).
According to Toskovski, the fire was probably caused by the use of pyrotechnic devices "used for light effect at the concert".
"At the moment of activating the so-called sprinklers, the sparks caught the ceiling that was made of easily flammable material after which for a very short period of time the fire spread across the whole discotheque, creating a thick smoke" Toskovski said.
Helicopters ferried some of the wounded to the capital Skope's hospitals.
Videos posted on social networks and shot before the fire show the use of stage jets, a type of indoor fireworks used during concerts.
Other videos published by media in the Balkan country show the entrance to the building blackened by flames.
In September 2021, a major fire killed 14 people at a unit for Covid-19 patients in the northwestern town of Tetovo.
Türkiye has sent ambulance planes to North Macedonia to transport victims of the deadly nightclub fire, with the first aircraft arriving in Skopje on Sunday evening.
The ambulance plane, dispatched by the Turkish Health Ministry, landed at Skopje International Airport to transfer three critically injured individuals to Istanbul for treatment.
Türkiye's Ambassador to Skopje Fatih Ulusoy confirmed that North Macedonian authorities had requested urgent medical evacuation for the most seriously injured victims.
“The ambulance plane sent by the Ministry of Health is currently taking three injured young people to our country. This evening, they will land at Cam and Sakura Hospital in Istanbul,” Ulusoy said.
A second ambulance plane, operated by the Turkish Ministry of Defense, is en route to Skopje and is set to transport six more injured victims to Ankara Bilkent City Hospital for advanced medical care.
“The teams of the Health Ministry made the arrangements very quickly. We are also in close contact with the North Macedonian authorities,” Ulusoy stated. “This is a great tragedy for North Macedonia, and we share their pain. It is extremely saddening that innocent young people lost their lives and were injured in such an incident.”
The ambassador confirmed that a Turkish citizen was among the wounded and that officials would visit them later in the evening.
“We are always ready to mobilize all our means for the friendly and brotherly Macedonian people and our brothers and sisters from all communities here. Under the instructions of our President, our opportunities have been mobilized quickly today,” Ulusoy said.
