51 dead and more than 100 injured in the nightclub fire in North -Macedonia: NPR

Skopje, Nord -Macedonia -A massive night club fire killed 51 people and injured more than 100 in Northern Macedonia's Oststadt Kocani on the early Sunday, the Interior Minister Panche Toshkovski said a press conference.

According to Toshkovski, the flame broke out during a concert by a local pop group in the Pulse Nighclub at 2:35 a.m. He said that pyrotechnics had to catch the roof to fire. Videos showed chaos in the club, whereby young people ran through the smoke when the musicians asked people to flee as quickly as possible.

Officials said that the injuries had been brought to hospitals across the country, including the capital Skopje, many with severe burns. The efforts were supported by several volunteer organizations.

Health Minister Arben Taravari said 118 people were hospitalized and added that he received support from neighboring countries.

“All of our skills were used to save the young people who are involved in this tragedy,” Taravari told reporters who sometimes looked visibly shaken.

This is the worst tragedy in the recent memory that the internal nation is to be hit, the population of which is less than 2 million.

“This is a difficult and very sad day for Macedonia. The loss of so many young life is irreparable, and the pain of families, relatives and friends is immeasurable,” Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“People and the government will do everything in their power to at least easily relieve their pain and help them in these most difficult moments.”

Family members gathered in front of hospitals and Kocanis offices begging the authorities for further information.

The club was located in an old building that was previously a carpet warehouse and has been running for several years, according to the local media.

Toshkovski said that the authorities would examine the event location's license and security regulations, and added that the government had a “moral responsibility” to pursue someone who is responsible. The police have already arrested a man, but he gave no details about the person's participation.

The condolences of politicians in the region, including Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama, the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos and the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“I wish those who had hurt a quick recovery. On this sad day, Ukraine mourned next to our (northern) Macedonian friends,” wrote Zelenskyy about X.