The fire broke out in “Pulse”, a nightclub in the eastern town of Kocani, where more than 1,000 mostly young fans had crammed in to see the hip-hop duo DNK popular in the country.
“According to the data we have by now, 51 persons lost their lives,” interior minister Pance Toskovski said after visiting the scene.
“More than 100 persons are injured,” Toskovski said, adding that the wounded had been transported to the local hospital in the town as well as to the capital Skopje and the town of Stip some 30 kilometres to the south.
The concert kicked off around midnight, while online media outlet SDK, reported that the fire started about three hours later.
According to Toskovski, the fire was probably caused by the use of pyrotechnic devices “used for light effect at the concert”.
“At the moment of activating the so-called sprinklers, the sparks caught the ceiling that was made of easily flammable material after which for a very short period of time the fire spread across the whole discotheque, creating a thick smoke” Toskovski said.
Helicopters ferried some of the wounded to the capital Skope’s hospitals.
Videos posted on social networks and shot before the fire show the use of stage jets, a type of indoor fireworks used during concerts.
Other videos published by media in the Balkan country show the entrance to the building blackened by flames.
