59 dead in Kočani club fire, arrest warrant issue for four suspects
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The fire, which started at 2:35 am on Sunday, has claimed tens of lives of concertgoers, with the North Macedonian Interior Minister saying the perpetrators likely used pyrotechnics to light the fire.
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A firefighter inspects a nightclub after a massive fire in the town of Kocani, North Macedonia, on March 16, 2025 (AP)
The death toll from a fire at a nightclub in North Macedonia has risen, as the interior minister announced that they have issued arrest warrants targeting the suspects responsible for the fire.
“According to the information that we have, there are 59 persons deceased of which 35 are identified,” Interior Minister of North Macedonia Pance Toskovski said on Sunday, adding, “The number of wounded according to latest information up to noon (1100 GMT) is 155 people."
Toskovski explained that the fire was likely sparked by pyrotechnic devices “used for light effect at the concert,” adding that “at the moment of activating the so-called sprinklers, the sparks caught the ceiling that was made of easily flammable material, after which, in a very short period of time, the fire spread across the whole discotheque, creating thick smoke.”
Tragic disaster in North Macedonia — dozens of young people burned alive in a nightclub fire
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) March 16, 2025
A fire broke out at a nightclub in the city of Kočani. At least 50 people have died, most likely very young.
The tragedy was caused by pyrotechnics — someone in the crowd set off… pic.twitter.com/LAVulBEUy3
The interior minister said that arrest warrants had been issued for four people connected to the fire after arresting one man, noting that the fire was caused by clubgoers who used pyrotechnics to light a fire in the club, where around 1,500 young people were attending a concert by a hip-hop duo popular in the country.
North Macedonia’s MRT public broadcaster reported that 27 people with severe burns were hospitalized at Skopje city hospital, while another 23 were receiving treatment at the clinical center, with children also among the injured.
The fire broke out at approximately 02:35 a.m. (01:35 GMT) on Sunday during a concert at the Pulse nightclub in Kočani, a town located about 100 km (60 miles) east of Skopje, the capital.
