The fire torn a nightclub crowded early Sunday in the Macedonian city north of Kocani, killing 59 people and injuring more than 100, after sparks put the roof on a live group.
Mandates have been issued for four people in the fire, said Interior Minister Panche Toshkovski. The MIA state news agency said the police owned the club owner for the incident.
A video of the event, checked by Reuters, showed a group playing on stage flanked by two rockets pulling white sparks in the air, some of which lit the ceiling.
The fire caused an immediate panic, and friends and relatives were separated while people fled to outings.
“Everyone was trying to save themselves,” said survivor Marija Taseva, 22, at Local TV 5.
As she was trying to escape, Taseva fell to the ground and people crossed her, leaving her with an injury on the cheek. In the precipitation, she lost contact with Sister, who is always missing.
“We cannot find it in a hospital,” she said.
Minors among the injured
The Minister of Health, Arben Taravari, said that 148 people had been hospitalized in Skopje, Kocani and the surrounding cities. Eighteen people were seriously injured, said Taravari.
The public broadcaster of the North MRT of the MSTRI reported that 27 people had been hospitalized at the hospital in the city of Skopje with serious burns, and 23 others were treated in a clinical center. Among the injured, there were minors, he said.
The fire, which started around 3 am, was caused by “pyrotechnic devices” whose sparks triggered the fire, said Toshkovski.
LJUPCO KOCEVSKI, public prosecutor of Northern Macedonia, said five prosecutors would investigate the incident.
“For the moment, orders have been made to collect evidence” and some people have been questioned, said Kocevski, without developing.
The firefighters extinguished the charred and smoking entrance to the Pulse nightclub, while the ambulances rushed from the scene, the television sequences of a local broadcaster showed. Reuters’ images have shown that the club’s corrugated sheet roof burned and collapsed in places, its interior wooden beams on display and blackened.
Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said on Facebook: “It’s a difficult day and very sad for Macedonia! The loss of so many young lives is irreparable, the pain of families, relatives and friends is immeasurable.”
After going to be injured in a Skopje hospital, Northern Macedonian President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, dressed in black and fighting, said the authorities were ready to do anything to help all keys.
“I just can’t understand that … what a disaster, what a tragedy.”
