A deadly blaze at a nightclub in Kocani, North Macedonia, killed at least 59 people and left more than 100 injured during a hip-hop concert on Sunday, March 16. Interior Minister Pance Toskovski confirmed the fatalities after he visited the site of the tragedy.
The accident took place at “Pulse,” a well-known club in the town, located some 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of the capital city, Skopje. The concert, which saw the popular hip-hop group DNK perform, drew some 1,500 people, most of whom were young fans of music.
The fire broke out allegedly at about 3:00 AM local time, minutes after the concert opened at midnight. Witnesses and state news agency MIA reports describe how the blaze quickly spread and triggered a frenzied evacuation. The injured were rushed to Kocani, Stip, and Skopje hospitals, with local centers struggling to cope with the scale of the casualties.
A social media video, which has been confirmed by Reuters, recorded the sequence of events that led to the tragedy as a band played on stage and flares emitted white sparks into the air. It seems the sparks burned the ceiling of the musicians’ position, causing the devastating fire.
As the investigations go on, the nation is mourning the loss of life and struggling to come to terms with the consequences of this disastrous incident, which has left an everlasting trace in the small town of Kocani, where some 30,000 people live.
