Deadly nightclub blaze leaves North Macedonia in grief and desperate for accountability

KOCANI, North Macedonia (AP) — After North Macedonia’s deadliest tragedy in recent memory, with dozens dying in a nightclub inferno, the Balkan nation is struggling to grapple with so many young lives lost while trying to hold those responsible to account and prevent another calamity.

The fire tore through the overcrowded nightclub 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.

People as young as 16 were among the casualties, and the nation 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 Macedonia’s 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.”

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

Allegation of bribery surrounding nightclub

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.

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 115 kilometers (72 miles) west, for updates about the injured. Many of the most seriously injured were receiving treatment in Greece and other neighboring countries.

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.”

The death toll may rise further

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 Sunday.

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.

“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. “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.

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.

Condolences poured in from leaders around Europe as well as from the office of Pope Francis, who has been hospitalized for a month for double pneumonia.

“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, 64, 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.”

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Testorides reported from Skopje, Macedonia