Authorities question 15 people over Club Pulse fire in North Macedonia as grieving families demand answers

Kocani, North Macedonia — North Macedonia is grappling with the loss of dozens of young lives in a nightclub inferno while trying to hold those responsible to account and prevent another calamity. Fire tore through the overcrowded Club Pulse early Sunday in the eastern town of Kocani, leaving 59 people dead and 155 injured from burns, smoke inhalation and being trampled in the panicked escape toward the building’s single exit.

Although the investigation into the fire’s cause is ongoing, videos showed sparkling pyrotechnics on the stage hitting Club Pulse’s ceiling and igniting the blaze as a band played.

People as young as 16 were among the casualties, and the nation has declared seven days of mourning.

“We are all in shock, and I am shocked myself: as a mother, as a person, as a president,” North Macedonian President Gordana Davkova Siljanovska said in an address to the nation Sunday night.

“I still cannot believe that the terrible tragedy in Kocani is a reality. I do not know with what words to express my condolences to the parents and loved ones of the deceased,” she said. “No one responsible should escape the law, justice and punishment! Let us not allow anyone to endanger the lives of innocent people anymore.”

Safety violations, suspected “bribery and corruption”

“We even tried to get out through the bathroom, only to find bars (on the windows),” 19-year-old Marija Taseva told The Associated Press after escaping the blaze. “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.”

She suffered an injury to her face.

A state prosecutor said a preliminary inspection of the nightclub had revealed numerous safety code violations including a lack of emergency exits, an insufficient number of fire extinguishers, and improper access for emergency vehicles, among others.

Interior Minister Panche Toshkovski said 15 people had been detained for questioning after a preliminary inspection revealed the club was operating without a proper license. He said the number of people inside the club was at least double its official capacity of 250.

“We have grounds for suspicion that there is bribery and corruption in this case,” he told reporters without elaborating.

Authorities say they are investigating allegations of bribery surrounding the nightclub that was crammed with young revelers and at double capacity. And North Macedonia’s government ordered a sweeping three-day inspection to be carried out at all nightclubs and cabarets across the country, starting Monday.

North Macedonia rocked by grief and anger

The fire that shook the nation of 2 million — where close-knit extended family bonds made the disaster personal to many — was the latest in a string of deadly nightclub fires around the world.

The country was in mourning as people watched harrowing scenes in the town of 25,000 people, where rescuers for hours carried out their grim task of removing the charred bodies of clubgoers.

The fire caused the roof of the single-story building to partially collapse, revealing the charred remains of wooden beams and debris.

Anxious parents gathered outside hospitals in Kocani and the capital Skopje, some 72 miles west, for updates about the injured.

Waiting outside the hospital in Kocani, Dragi Stojanov was among those who received the dreaded news that his 21-year-old son Tomce had perished.

“He was my only child. I don’t need my life anymore. … 150 families have been devastated,” he told reporters. “Children burnt beyond recognition. There are corpses, just corpses inside (the club)… And the bosses (of organized crime), just putting money into their pockets.”

Flags around the country have been lowered to half-staff, and the death toll may rise further, with 20 of the injured in critical condition, Health Minister Arben Taravari said.

Neighboring and nearby countries — Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Turkey — have already accepted many of those with the most serious injuries, while the government was in talks with several other countries to expand the hospital transfers, officials said.

“All patients who have been transferred abroad are currently in stable condition. We hope it stays that way and that we will receive positive news from abroad.” Taravari said Monday, noting that several countries are also sending medical teams to North Macedonia.

Condolences poured in from leaders around Europe as well as from the office of the hospitalized Pope Francis.

“I have had many difficult moments and challenges in my life but today is by far the most difficult day of my life,” Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said in a televised address. “My heart is breaking, and I have no strength to speak today. I am broken and my spirit is broken.”

Late Sunday, Kocani’s residents held a candlelight vigil in support for mourning families, waiting in long lines to light church candles.

Beti Delovska, an economist from Skopje, said North Macedonia has never experienced a tragedy like this, with dozens of young people vanishing in minutes. And she noted that many young people with bright futures had already left the nation, in search of opportunities elsewhere.

“(North) Macedonia is on its death bed,” Delovska said. “We have no more credible institutions, the health system is completely dismantled, education is poor, judiciary is partisan and corrupted to the bone.… I do believe now that only God can save (North) Macedonia.”