Dozens are believed to have died at the Fire Night Club Macedonia Night Club
London and Belograd – Dozens of people are believed to have died in a fire at a nightclub in the city of South Kocani, North Macedonia, said local authorities.
The Associated Press reported that 51 people were killed and at least 118 were treated at the hospital in the incident, quoting the comment of the Minister of the Interior Panche Toshkovski to journalists.
Switchboard operators at the Kocani General Hospital told ABC News, “This is a disaster tragedy.”
They do not provide more information about the number or status of the victim.
Emergency respondents operated outside the nightclub, following a fire that resulted in victims, in the city of Kocani, North Macedonia, March 16, 2025.
Ognien Teofilovski/Reuters
The DNK band manager, who appeared at the nightclub when the fire broke out, told ABC News that the place had a maximum capacity of 500 to 700 people.
The band, consisting of eight members, performed at the time of the fire and some of them including the injured, the manager said.
When more details of the incident emerged, the families of young people who attended concerts – some of them underage – ask for information on social media, share telephone numbers and personal details in the hope that those who are still missing can be found.
Flames starting at around 2:35 in the morning, said Toshkovski, said the venue roof was burned by fireworks used by clubbers.
Toshkovski said the police arrested one person, but did not provide further details.
This photo shows the view of the burning night club in it which the fire occurred and killed 51 people in Kocani, a city about 100 kilometers east of the Skopje capital, on March 16, 2025.
Robert Atanasovski/AFP via Getty Images
Northern Macedonian Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski wrote in X, “The loss of so many young lives cannot be improved, and family pain, beloved people and friends cannot be measured.”
“The government is fully mobilized and will do everything needed to handle the consequences and determine the causes of this tragedy,” Mickoski added. “In this deep time of sadness, when our hearts were destroyed by pain due to this terrible tragedy, I called for unity, solidarity, humanity and responsibility.”
Among those who expressed their condolences from abroad were the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “I hope those who are injured in a quick recovery,” he wrote in a post to X. “Ukraine grieves with us [North] Friends of Macedonia on this sad day. “
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said that his nation was ready to “provide any assistance that might be needed.”
European Commissioner for enlarged Marta Kos said to X that he was “very sad” by “terrible tragedy.”
This is a developing story. Please check again for updates.
ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian contributed to this report.
