George Wright and Cachela Smith
BBC News
“I’ve lost everything”: Survivors and relatives speak of their sadness
Marija Taseva was spending the night with her sister at the Pulse Club in Kokani, North Macedonia during the disaster on Saturday.
They were watching DNK, the country’s popular hip-hop duo. A fire broke out, killing at least 59 people and 155 injured.
“Everyone started screaming, ‘Go out, I’m off!” the 19-year-old told Reuters.
People desperately tried to escape the flames, but there was only one exit for around 500 people as the only other door behind the venue was locked.
“I don’t know how, but I ended up on the ground. I couldn’t wake up and at that moment people started stomping on me,” Taseva said.
She was eventually able to reach safety, but her sister didn’t.
“My sister has passed away. I’ve been saved, but it wasn’t.”
Police have detained 15 people, and Interior Minister Pantoskovsky says “the basis for allegedly bribery and corruption” is linked to the fire.
Reuters
Many people respect the young victims
The fire began around 2:30 (01:30 GMT) local time on Sunday when sparks from the fireworks device hit the ceiling.
The venue, 100km (60 miles) east of the capital Skopje, known by the local media as “improvised nightclubs,” did not have a legal license to operate it, Toskowski said.
It was previously a carpet warehouse and police are investigating it.
“The majority of the deaths were injured from a stampede that occurred in panic while attempting an exit,” Kristina Serafimovska, head of Kokani Hospital, told reporters.
“70 of the patients have burns and carbon monoxide poisoning,” she said, according to AFP News Agency.
Vladislav Gruev, a reconstruction and plastic surgery specialist at University Clinic for Surgical Diseases, treats survivors.
“Most of them have over 18% surface volume, head, neck, upper limbs and upper limbs (second and third degree burns on the hands and fingers,” he said.
“Many young lives have been lost.”
Sunday’s inspections showed several “abnormalities” at the venue, including “defects” in the fire guidance and lighting system, said Biljana Asovska, spokesman for prosecutors.
Speaking outside the hospital, Red Cross volunteer Mustafa Redov said that most of the people who died were young.
“Where they identify the victims, things are getting much worse. You can see that parents are also young people in their 40s. The kids are 18 or 20 years old.”
“The situation is brutal and confused, the story is very sad and unfortunately many young lives are lost.”
One man who ne’s injured in the fire said some people were unable to find children.
Getty Images
The victim’s family was waiting for news of their loved ones outside the hospital
Many are angry and are looking for answers like Draghi Stoyanov, who lost only child in the fire.
“Let me talk in front of everyone. Take a picture of me. I’m a dead man, I’ve lost everything… the whole of Europe should know,” he told reporters.
“After this tragedy, what do I need this life for? I don’t need it.
“I had one child and I lost him.”
North Macedonian President Goldanasiljanovskadavkova said that accountability is needed for what happened.
“No one responsible for this time should avoid law, justice and punishment,” she said.
“It’s not as valuable as human life, especially young life.”
She added that the most serious injuries were being treated at specialized clinics in Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia and Türkiye.
The government has declared a seven-day national mourning and will hold an emergency session as part of its ongoing investigation into how the incident unfolded.
Getty Images
Cocrani burnt nightclub
