A full hall, pyrotechnics and only one way out - in North Macedonia they are investigating how and why the tragedy that took place in Kocani was allowed to happen. At least 59 people died and 155 were injured.
"I ended up on the ground, I couldn't get up and at one point people started trampling me", 19-year-old Maria Taseva tells the BBC. "My sister died. I was saved, and she wasn't," the girl added.
The dead were mainly young people, three of them minors
15 people were detained, and Interior Minister Pance Toshkovski said that the venue where the concert was held did not have a valid license and that it most likely operated thanks to corruption and bribery. Among those arrested were the manager of the venue, as well as civil servants who, according to Prime Minister Mickoski, issued illegal documents.
The dead were mainly young people, including three minors. "Film me. I'm dead, I lost everything. All of Europe needs to know", Dragi Stoyanov, a father who lost his only child in the fire, tells the cameras.
A concert by the popular hip-hop duo DNA was held at the "Pulse" club. Six people from the band and the crew are among the victims. One of the singers is also among them. According to eyewitnesses, he returned to help the injured.
Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece are treating injured
Neighboring countries, including Bulgaria, have received patients from North Macedonia. "The condition of the injured from North Macedonia is serious", said the deputy director of "Pirogov" Prof. Nikolay Gabrovski. The patients were transported to Sofia yesterday on the Bulgarian military plane "Spartan". "Bulgaria has committed to accepting 14 people for treatment. Eight will be in "Pirogov", Gabrovski specified.
Five of them, who are between the ages of 22 and 25, arrived last night, three are on ventilators. Late in the evening, three more under the age of 17 were hospitalized. This morning, Dr. Valentin Dimitrov, director of "Pirogov", stated that all were brought in in serious condition. Three injured were transported to Plovdiv, three more to Varna.
Two girls and one boy - aged 19, 25 and 26 - were admitted to the Thessaloniki "Papnikolaou" hospital. Their condition is described as very serious, and two have already undergone emergency operations. If necessary, Greece can accept 18 injured, who will be admitted to "Papanikolau", as well as to the military hospitals in Athens and Thessaloniki.
Serbia also offered assistance, where last night a CASA C-295 military plane transported 12 injured, who are already hospitalized in Belgrade. Four doctors and medical technicians arrived in Skopje by plane to assist in the medical evacuation of the injured. Two other injured were previously transported by military ambulances to Nis. To provide assistance to the victims in Macedonia, two doctors from the Military Medical Academy in Belgrade - a plastic surgeon and an anesthesiologist - are scheduled to remain in Skopje.
Turkey has already sent two medical evacuation planes, and assistance is expected from several other countries today.
North Macedonia has declared 7 days of national mourning. The prosecutor's office and politicians in the country, including Prime Minister Mickovski and President Gordana Siljanovska, promise that those responsible for the tragedy will be held accountable.