A blaze swept through a nightclub in North Macedonia early Sunday, resulting in the deaths of 51 individuals, reportedly due to fireworks igniting the venue, according to the country’s interior minister, Pance Toskovski.
The fire at “Club Pulse” in the eastern town of Kocani also left over 100 people injured. The club had over 1,000 young attendees, mostly young, who came to enjoy a performance by the popular hip-hop group DNK.
Toskovski noted that the fire was likely triggered by pyrotechnic devices “designed for light effects at the concert.”
When activated, “the sparks ignited the ceiling, which was composed of flammable materials, causing the fire to rapidly engulf the entire nightclub and produce dense smoke,” he explained.
Toskovski, along with the prime minister of the Balkan nation, Hristijan Mickoski, visited the site of the incident early Sunday.
Helicopters transported some of the injured to hospitals in Skopje, the capital city. A doctor at the Naum Ohridski clinic, Nebojsa Nastov, reported that 27 wounded were admitted to the facility.
Videos shared on social media and recorded before the fire depicted “stage fountains,” also known as “stage jets,” a type of indoor firework used during live acts.
Additional footage released by local media revealed the entrance of the building charred by flames.
In September 2021, a significant fire resulted in the deaths of 14 individuals at a COVID-19 patient unit in the northwestern town of Tetovo.
