The number of fatalities increases to 59 in the nightclub fire of North Macedonia, 155 injured

London and Belgrade – Almost 60 people were killed in a fire in a night club in the southern city of Kocani in northern Macedonia, the local authorities said on Sunday.

The number of fatalities is 59, with 155 people injured, according to the authorities. The dead were killed by smoke inhalation, burns and stamps triggered by the fire, added them. There was only one exit from the night club, the authorities said.

According to Dr. Kristina Serafimova, head of the Kocani General Hospital, between 14 and 24 years old. Around 10 of the injured are in a critical condition and the respiratory protection coats that fight for their lives continued.

The most serious cases have all been transferred to hospitals in other parts of the country or abroad, said Serafimova.

A switching panel operator in the hospital told ABC News: “It is a catastrophic tragedy.”

The manager of the DNK band, which occurred in the nightclub, said ABC News that the event location had a maximum capacity of 500 to 700 people.

The band, which consists of eight members, appeared at the time of the fire and some of them were among the injuries, said the manager.

The families of the young people who took part in the concert – some of them – appealed as further details of the incident, about information on social media and shared telephone numbers and personal details in the hope that missing people can still be found.

Serafimova told ABC News that only around half of the victims had identification. Family members of the missing person were asked to get to the Kocani Hospital to identify their relatives, added them.

The flame began around 2:35 a.m., said Interior Minister Toshkovski and said that the roof of the event location was set on fire by pyrotechnics from Clubbers.

Toshkovski said the police arrested a man, but gave no further details.

The Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Hristijan Mickoski, wrote about X: “The loss of so many young life is irreparable, and the pain of families, relatives and friends is immeasurable.”

“The government is fully mobilized and will do everything to deal with the consequences and to determine the causes of this tragedy,” added Mickoski. “In these times deep sadness, when our hearts are broken due to this terrible tragedy, I demand unity, solidarity, humanity and responsibility.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was among those who offered condolences from abroad. “I wish that those who had violated a quick recovery,” he wrote in a contribution to X. “Ukraine mourns not next to ours [North] Macedonian friends on this sad day. “

The Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said that his nation was ready “ready to” provide all the help they needed “.

The European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, said on X that she was “deeply sad” from the “terrible tragedy”.

This is a developing story. Please check for updates.

The Somayh Malekian from ABC News contributed to this report.