LONDON and BELGRADE — Dozens of people are believed to have died in a fire at a nightclub in North Macedonia’s southern city of Kocani, local authorities said Sunday.
The Associated Press reported that 51 people were killed and around 100 more injured in the incident, citing Interior Minister Panche Toshkovski’s remarks to journalists.
A switchboard operator at the Kocani General Hospital told ABC News, “It’s a catastrophic tragedy.”
They did not provide any further information on the number or status of the casualties.
Emergency responders operate outside a night club, following a fire resulting in casualties, in the town of Kocani, North Macedonia, March 16, 2025.
Ognien Teofilovski/Reuters
The manager of the DNK band, which was performing at the nightclub when the fire broke out, told ABC News that the venue had a maximum capacity of 500 to 700 people.
The band, which consists of eight members, was performing at the time of the fire and some of them were among the injured, the manager said.
This photograph shows a view of a burnt down nightclub inside which a fire broke out and killed 51 people in Kocani, a town some 100 kilometres east of the capital Skopje, on March 16, 2025.
Robert Atanasovski/AFP via Getty Images
As more details of the incident emerged, the families of the young people who attended the concert — some of them underage — appealed for information on social media, sharing phone numbers and personal details in the hope that those still missing can be found.
The blaze began around 2:35 a.m., Toshkovski said, saying the venue’s roof was set on fire by pyrotechnics used by clubbers.
Toshkovski said police arrested one man, but did not give any further details.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian contributed to this report.
