Six out of the 59 victims of the weekend fire in the nightclub in Kočani, northern Macedonia, was not even 18 years old. This was announced on Thursday by the local prosecutor’s office, which is investigating the circumstances of the fire, TASR reports according to the AFP report.
The prosecutor’s office sent a document to the media, stateing that three of the victims were 16 and another three 17 years old. Another 25 dead was aged 18 to 25 years. On Thursday, the funerals of the victims were held in Kočan and the capital of Skopje and five other cities.
Crowds of people were gathering in the Kočana cemetery from the morning, burying 30 people there. Rescuers also intervened, as several mourning came sick. The funeral ceremonies were held in the chapel in the cemetery and led by the highest spiritual Macedonian Orthodox Church Archbishop Stefan. “There are insufficient words that are comfortable to lose these children,” he said. “We can only ensure that such accidents never happen again,” he added.
The city has lost a whole generation
In the city center, the authorities placed a condolence book and dozens of photographs of the victims, leaving grieving flowers or candles. Kočani is a relatively small city that has now lost “a whole generation of young people”, said Nikola 20-year-old. According to him, the tragedy in which some of his closest friends died are not accompanied by streams, but the “tsunami of tears” and the city is “dead”. Like another assembly, he also asked for responsibility.
The fire broke out on Sunday night in the Pulse club, where the popular hip-hop group DNK performed. The concert started at midnight and it was mainly young people. The fire apparently caused a fun pyrotechnics, which was lit by visitors in the interior, and from it caught the ceiling and then the roof of the nightclub.
59 mostly young people were killed and almost 200 suffered injuries. According to the Minister of Health Arben Taravari, there are 72 injured from the club in Kočan in hospitals in Northern Macedonia and another 101 patients are treated abroad.
There were twice as many people in the club than the tickets sold
According to the findings so far, more than 500 people have been informed in the club, although only 250 tickets have been sold. Many victims were trampled when they were pushed to the exits after the outbreak.
The prosecutor’s office stated that the club operator has violated numerous fire -fighting regulations; Among other things, the device did not have enough fire extinguishers and emergency exits. In addition, the owner operated the club based on a falsified license.
So far, more than ten people have been detained in connection with the fire, including seven police officers, as announced by Interior Minister Toškovski. More than 20 people, including the former Minister, are investigated.
Night club licenses began to check throughout the country, and dozens have already closed the regulations for non -compliance.
