Crowds call for justice for 59 killed in North Macedonia nightclub fire

Sporadic violence broke out in North Macedonia as thousands of people demanded justice for 59 people killed in a nightclub blaze and called for an end to the corruption that they say was behind the country’s worst disaster in years.

The fire broke out during a hip hop concert in the town of Kocani at around 3 a.m. on Sunday when sparks from flares set a patch of ceiling alight. Hundreds of people scrambled for the unlicensed venue’s only exit as flames spread across the roof.

The incident has shattered the town of 25,000 people, 80 kilometers east of the capital Skopje. Bulldozers and workers with shovels dug a line of fresh graves in the town’s cemetery on Monday. People with missing loved ones queued outside the hospital to give DNA samples in case their relatives were not immediately identifiable.

Officials said that the Pulse nightclub’s license was illegally obtained and that the venue lacked fire extinguishers and emergency exits. More than 150 people were injured.

“I want everyone who helped this place carry on with its business to be jailed,” said 16-year-old Jovan, who said he lost a friend in the fire. “We need change because this is a corrupt country.”

Jovan joined thousands of others in a quiet protest in Kocani’s central square on Monday. People hugged and cried as they lined up to light candles for the dead and write messages of condolence.

Some held placards that read: “We are not dying from accidents; we are dying from corruption” and “Everything is legal here if you have connections.” Hundreds more held a vigil in central Skopje.

Violence broke out briefly when a group of people used rocks to smash out the windows of a pub that three protesters said was run by the same person who owned Pulse.

Later hundreds of people descended on the mayor’s home, throwing rocks and smashing windows. Next door, a family who had lost a relative in the fire looked on in tears.

Source: Reuters