The authorities said that a huge fire torn a nightclub in the eastern town of Kokani in northern Macedonia on Sunday, killing 59 people and wounding 155.
Interior Minister Panch Toskovsky told reporters that the fire broke out at about 2:30 am during a concert by the local pop music group at Pulse Club. He said that 39 of the dead have been identified so far.
He said, after the initial evaluation, the fireworks are likely to cause the ceiling to shoot. Videos showed chaos inside the club, as young people run through smoke, as musicians urged people to flee as quickly as possible.
With the gathering of relatives outside the hospitals to wait for the news, Dragi Stoganov residing in Kokani was informed that his 21 -year -old son, Thomsi, had died in the fire.
It was my only child. “I no longer need my life,” he said. “I have destroyed a hundred and fifty families.”
The officials said that the injured were transferred to hospitals throughout the country, including the capital, Scopji, and a lot of severe burns. The voltage was assisted by many volunteer organizations.
The Minister of Health, Arbin Tarafari, said 118 people were transferred to the hospital, adding that he had received offers to help from neighboring countries, including Albania, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia.
“All our capabilities have been used, in a maximum effort to save the largest possible lives for young people participating in this tragedy,” Tarafari told reporters.
This is the worst tragedy in the modern memory that determines the non -coastal nation, whose population is less than two million.
President Gordana Selanovska Decova visited the victims of the burning in a hospital in Scooby and spoke to parents waiting outside the building.
“It is terrible … it is difficult to believe how this happened,” she said, her voice stops with emotion. “We must give these young people a courage to continue.”
In an online publication, Prime Minister Hréstejan Mikuski wrote: “This is a very difficult and sad day for Macedonia. The loss of a lot of young life cannot be repaired, and the pain of families, loved ones and friends is not measured.”
Family members gather in front of hospitals and city offices in Kokani, about 115 km (72 miles) east of Scopji, begging for more information.
The club was in an old building that was previously warehouse for carpets and was working for several years, according to the local media MKD.
The fire caused the collapse of the roof of the monochromatic building in part, and revealed the charred residue of wooden beams and debris. The police cordoned off the site and sent to the evidence collection teams in the state's involvement in the state.
The state prosecutor, Ljubco Kocevski, said that many people were interrogated by the police, but they did not give more details and confirmed that the cause of the fire was still under investigation.
The Ministry of Interior officials said that the authorities will investigate the provisions of the license and safety of the place, adding that the government bears a “moral responsibility” to help sue anyone responsible. The police have already arrested one man, but he did not provide details about the person's participation.
While they woke up to the news of the tragedy overnight, neighbors and leaders of the country from other places in Europe sent condolences.
The head of the European Union's foreign policy, Kaja Callas, published on X that it was “very sad” and said that the 27 -countries bloc “shares the sadness and pain of the Northern Macedonia people.” North Macedonia is a candidate for the European Union membership.
Condolences also flowed from politicians throughout the region, including Prime Minister in Albania Idi Rama, European Commissioner for Expansion, Marta Cos, and Ukrainian President Voludmir Zelinsky.
“I wish those who have been infected with a rapid recovery. Ukraine mourns alongside our Macedonian (North) friends on this sad day,” Zelinski wrote on X.
Fireworks were often caused by deadly fires in nightclubs, including those in Colectiv Club in Buchast, Romania, in 2015 with 64 people.
