15 people have been detained after this weekend’s fire at the Pulse nightclub in the city of Kocani in Northern Macedonia. More than that are suspected to be responsible for tragedy, but some of the suspects are among the dead and others are injured.
Detention and corruption suspicions
An investigation into what happened is going on. The authorities suspect that the fire has partly to do with corruption and investigates allegations of bribes around the nightclub.
According to Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, the nightclub had a counterfeit permit signed in March 2024 by a former secretary of state at the Ministry of Finance.
However, it is not clear from Mickoski’s statement about the Secretary of State himself knew that the permit was false. The document must have had the department’s original stamps and former Finance Minister Kreshnik Bekteshi has been called for questioning.
Starting next week, all nightclubs and similar operations in Northern Macedonia will be inspected. The premises where Pulse lived were previously a carpet layer and have been described as “an improvised club”. A preliminary inspection of Pulse has shown, among other things, lack of emergency exits and insufficient number of fire extinguishers and fire alarms.
Injured receive care abroad
A total of 59 of the over 500 people who were in the room died when the fire broke out. Three of them were minors and among the dead are also three members of the band who appeared.
More than 150 people suffered injuries after breathing in smoke and being trampled during the flight through the only output of the building.
The around 50 most severely injured will receive care in Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, Turkey, Croatia and Romania, and experts are expected to arrive in burns in Northern Macedonia from the Czech Republic, Serbia and Israel.
Relatives at the hospital
On Monday, parents of the dead formed a living wall around the hospital to regain their relatives’ remains, reports Al Jazeera Balkans. The remains are supposed to be sent first to Skopje for autopsy.
One of those who came to the hospital is Dragi Stojanov. There is his only child’s body, Tomce Stojanov.
– My pain is incurable. The wound cannot heal. He died when he returned to save others. He was pushed and trampled on. That’s how my son died, he tells the news agency AP.