By Fiona McLaughlin
A fire in an overcrowded nightclub in North Macedonia Sunday left 59 people dead and 155 injured.
A live concert was occurring as the fire broke out in the town of Kocani, leaving mostly young people dead and injured due to smoke inhalation, burns, and a stampede of those trying to leave the building, according to the Associated Press (AP). Some people as young as 16 were injured, officials said.
Videos circulating on social media show musicians performing as sparkling pyrotechnics on stage move upward, eventually hitting the ceiling and catching fire. Other videos then show the entire nightclub engulfed in flames.
The fire caused the roof of the building to collapse partially, showing debris and charred remains of wooden beams, the AP reported.
This aerial photograph shows a view of the burnt down nightclub in which revellers died, in Kocani, a town some 100 kilometres east of the capital Skopje, on March 16, 2025. The toll from a fire that ripped through a nightclub in North Macedonia hosting a locally popular hip-hop duo has risen to 59, the Balkan country’s interior minister said on March 16, 2025. Thirty-one of the identified dead were residents of Kocani, the eastern town where the concert took place, while another four were from the town of Stip nearby. (Photo by STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images)
Interior Minister Panche Toshkovski said 15 people were detained for questioning after an initial investigation found that the club had been operating without a proper license, the outlet reported. He added that the number of people inside the club was at least double its capacity of 250. (RELATED: Nightclub Fire In Thailand Kills At Least 13, Injures 35).
“We have grounds for suspicion that there is bribery and corruption in this case,” Toshkovski told reporters without further elaboration.
“We even tried to get out through the toilet, to find bars [on the windows],” Marija Taseva, 19, told the AP. “I somehow managed to get out. I fell down the stairs and they ran over me, trampled me. … I barely stayed alive and could hardly breathe.”
Relatives of attendees gathered in front of hospitals on Sunday begging officials for more information, the outlet reported. Dragi Stojanov, a local resident, was told that his 21-year-old son, Tomce, died in the fire.
“He was my only child. I don’t need my life anymore. … 150 families have been devastated,” Stojanov told the AP. “Children burnt beyond recognition. There are corpses, just corpses inside [the club]. … And the bosses [mafia bosses], just putting money into their pockets.”
KOCANI, NORTH MACEDONIA – MARCH 16: Relatives of the victims wait for news at the garden of Kocani General Hospital on March 16, 2025 in Kocani, North Macedonia. At least 59 people have died after a fire broke out overnight at the Pulse Club in Kocani, with more than 100 people reportedly injured. Panche Toshkovski, the country’s interior minister, has said the club’s roof caught fire from pyrotechnics set off during a concert at the venue. (Photo by Ferdi Limani/Getty Images)
North Macedonia’s president Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova said in a post, translated to English, on X that she visited victims at a Skopje hospital.
“There are no words to describe this tragedy,” she wrote. “I expect the health authorities to take measures to provide adequate care for all the injured. If necessary, we can count on support from neighboring countries, which have already offered to help.”
Neighboring countries including Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria and Turkey offered assistance after the incident, making preparations to receive patients with life-threatening injuries, according to the AP. Serbian and Bulgarian paramedics also reportedly traveled to North Macedonia to assist in the effort.
“In these tragic moments, I call and appeal to all of us to be together, to act responsibly, to be united and humane,” Siljanovska-Davkova said.
