Fifty-nine dead after Macedonia nightclub fire
Kochani, Macedonia (March 16, 2025) — At least 59 people have been killed and more than 155 injured in a nightclub fire in North Macedonia, officials say.
The blaze broke out around 02:30 (01:30 GMT) at the Pulse club in Kocani, a town around 100 km (60 miles) east of the capital, Skopje.
As many as 1,500 people were attending a concert by DNK, a popular hip-hop duo in the country, when the fire started. Footage posted on social media shows the roof of the building engulfed in flames.
Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski called it a “difficult and very sad day” for the country which had now lost so many “young lives.”
As many as 1,500 were said to have been attending a concert by the band DNK
Interior Minister Pance Toskovski said initial reports suggested the fire started from sparks caused by pyrotechnic devices.
Speaking outside the Kocani police station, he said the sparks had hit the ceiling, which was made of highly flammable material.
Footage shows the band playing on stage when two flares go off, sparks then catch fire on the ceiling before rapidly spreading.
Video verified by the BBC shows people trying to extinguish the flames on the ceiling. It shows the club was still full and people appeared to be watching efforts to put out the fire, rather than leaving.
Marija Taseva, 20, told Channel 5 TV she was caught in a crush at the club as people rushed for the exits. She said she fell to the ground and was trampled in the chaos before managing to get out.
Her family were still searching for her 25-year-old sister, though, who had not been found in any local hospital – and may have been transferred to Skopje for treatment.
Kocani’s hospital initially received 90 patients suffering severe burns.
The health minister said 18 remained in critical condition.
Kocani’s hospital director Kristina Serafimova told local media that staff had struggled to identify patients due to a lack of ID cards. However she went on to say that those deceased were aged between of 14 and 24.
In a statement, the prime minister said the government was “fully mobilised and will do everything necessary to deal with the consequences and determine the causes of this tragedy.”
One man has been arrested, the interior minister said without providing further details.
DNK was formed in 2002 and has topped the charts over the past decade.
