North Macedonia’s Minister of Interior, Panče Toškovski, has appealed for calm as anger grows over the nightclub fire that claimed 59 lives in the town of Kočani.
The blaze tore through the Pulse nightclub in the early hours of Sunday, leaving dozens dead and over a hundred injured. Grief, however, has given way to anger after it was revealed that the nightclub was operating illegally and was in breach of several basic safety regulations.
It has emerged that the club was a former carpet warehouse and had no fire alarms, only two extinguishers and a ceiling made from highly flammable material. According to the prime minister, Hristijan Mickoski, the club had obtained an invalid license from the Economy Ministry “in exchange for a bribe.”
In the wake of the tragedy, thousands of mourners gathered in Kočani on Monday to demand justice. The rally later turned violent after youths ransacked a café believed to belong to the owner of Pulse.
With more protests expected, Toškovski has called for calm. “I understand people’s anger, the despair and the disappointment,” he said. “[But] we cannot reach justice through injustice. We must be reasonable and call for reason.”
So far, around 20 people have been detained in relation to the disaster, among them a former economy minister and his closest aide, who reportedly signed the license.
It has emerged that the club was a former carpet warehouse and had no fire alarms, only two extinguishers and a ceiling made from highly flammable material. According to the prime minister, Hristijan Mickoski, the club had obtained an invalid license from the Economy Ministry “in exchange for a bribe.”
In the wake of the tragedy, thousands of mourners gathered in Kočani on Monday to demand justice. The rally later turned violent after youths ransacked a café believed to belong to the owner of Pulse.
With more protests expected, Toškovski has called for calm. “I understand people’s anger, the despair and the disappointment,” he said. “[But] we cannot reach justice through injustice. We must be reasonable and call for reason.”
So far, around 20 people have been detained in relation to the disaster, among them a former economy minister and his closest aide, who reportedly signed the license.
“The detainees will be questioned since there are grounds for suspicion that there is bribery and corruption linked to the fire,” said Toškovski.
He added: “Documents were issued contrary to all regulations; corruption has destroyed Macedonia... We must be committed to showing that we have the capacity to enable justice.”
As the country reels from the disaster, Mickoski has also pledged to crack down on corruption and punish those that facilitated the fire. “I will have no mercy,” he said on Sunday. “There is no person in Macedonia who is not broken after this.”
The blaze broke out at about 2:30 a.m. on Sunday after pyrotechnic devices set the roof on fire during a concert. Many of those that died are believed to have been crushed to death after they attempted to escape the inferno.
Around 20 of the injured remain in critical condition.
He added: “Documents were issued contrary to all regulations; corruption has destroyed Macedonia... We must be committed to showing that we have the capacity to enable justice.”
As the country reels from the disaster, Mickoski has also pledged to crack down on corruption and punish those that facilitated the fire. “I will have no mercy,” he said on Sunday. “There is no person in Macedonia who is not broken after this.”
The blaze broke out at about 2:30 a.m. on Sunday after pyrotechnic devices set the roof on fire during a concert. Many of those that died are believed to have been crushed to death after they attempted to escape the inferno.
Around 20 of the injured remain in critical condition.
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