A fire at an overcrowded nightclub in North Macedonia on Sunday killed 59 people and injured 155 people.
A fire broke out in the town of Kokani, causing live concerts, with smoke inhalation, burns and engravings of people trying to leave the building, killing and wounding mostly young people. According to Associated Press (AP). A young man, 16, was injured, officials said.
Videos circulating on social media show musicians playing as sparkling fireworks on stage move upwards and eventually hit the ceiling and set fire to light. Other videos then show the entire nightclub engulfed in flames.
The fire partially collapsed the building’s roof, showing debris and carbonized wooden beam remnants, the AP reported.
This aerial photo shows a view of the burning nightclub where Reveler died on March 16, 2025 in Kokani, a town about 100 kilometers east of the capital Skopje. The minister said the identified deaths were residents of Kokani, the eastern town where the concert was held, and the other four came from nearby towns. (Photo: Stringer/AFP) (Photo by Stringer/AFP via Getty Images)
Home Minister Pance Tosskowsky said the club was run without a proper license and 15 people were detained in the initial investigation. He added that the number of people in the club doubled its ability by at least 250. (Related: Nightclub fire in Thailand kills at least 13 and injures 35).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgxl4rnpntu
“In this case, there is a basis for suspicions of bribery and corruption,” Tosskowsky told reporters without further elaboration.
“We got out of the toilet and tried to find the bar. [on the windows]19-year-old Mariya Taseba told the Associated Press. “For some reason I managed to get out. I fell down the stairs and they ran through me, stomping on me. …I barely lived, I could barely breathe.”
Participants’ relatives gathered in front of the hospital on Sunday to plead with staff for more information, the outlet reported. Local resident Draghi Stoyanov was said to have his 21-year-old son, Tomse, died in the fire.
“He was my only child. I don’t need life anymore. …150 families have been devastated,” Stoyanov told the Associated Press. “Children are burning beyond recognition. They have corpses, and only corpses inside. [the club]. …and the boss [mafia bosses]just put your money in their pockets. ”
Cochan, North Macedonia – March 16: The victim’s parents awaits news in the garden of Cochan General Hospital in Cochan, North Macedonia on March 16, 2025. At least 59 people have been killed and more than 100 reportedly injured after a fire broke out overnight at Kokani’s Pulse Club. The country’s interior minister, Pante Tosskovsky, said the fireflies were fired from the fire plant that had been generated during a concert at the venue. (Photo: Ferdi Limani/Getty Images)
North Macedonia President Goldana Siljanovska Davkova I said In X, in a post translated into English, she visited the victim at Skopje Hospital.
“There is no word to explain this tragedy,” she wrote. “Health officials look forward to taking steps to provide adequate care to all injured people. If necessary, they can expect support from neighboring countries that have already offered assistance.”
Neighborhood countries, including Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria and Turkey, provided support after the incident and prepared to accept patients with life-threatening injuries, according to the Associated Press. Serbs and Bulgarian paramedics also reportedly travelled to North Macedonia to support the effort.
“In these tragic moments, I call on and appeal to all of us to be together, to act responsibly, to be united and humane,” Siljanovska Davkova said.
