Kochani, North Macedonia, March 16, 2025. The country woke up to the horrific tragedy in which 59 people died, among which were minors and a police officer, and 163 were injured, of which 45 are in critical condition and are being transported abroad. The fire in the nightclub “Pulse” in Kochani, in which dozens of people died, was caused by the use of fireworks, which were brought by a member of the band “DNK”, who is among the deceased. There were a total of 500 people in the facility, with 250 tickets having been sold, announced the Minister of Interior, Pance Toshkovski.
Yesterday’s (dis)information that was shared by media outlets was that there were about 1,500 people in the nightclub and about 80 dead, which according to official data confirms that it was speculation and misinformation. The most disinformation was published about the singer of DNK, Andrej, that he had disappeared, that he was in the hospital with injuries, only to finally establish that he was among those killed.
По Following the statement of Minister Toshkovski, the wife of one of the deceased DNK vocalist, Natalija Gjorgjieska, took to Facebook to say that the police had behaved rudely towards her and that the statements that a member of the band was in charge of the pyrotechnics were lies.
“Yesterday, after searching for my husband Andreja Gjorgjieski, to find him in one of the hospitals, the criminal investigation service visited our home address, which, without explanation was looking for my husband, in the presence of our child. The same service called me on my phone several times with the MOST INHUMAN attitude for me to provide information on where my husband was in order to give a statement about the incident, for which I directed the same question to them. From the media, which are reporting FALSE information, they learned that my husband is receiving treatment at home, while he lies in the hospital in Kochani, dead”, she says.
She asks all public media not to spread disinformation on the social networks and for the public authorities to carry out a detailed investigation into the entire tragic event.
“At this difficult moment for all of us, I PUBLICALY ask the institutions and media to respect, above all, our privacy. False announcements that my husband is receiving treatment at home and that the pyrotechnics were brought by the band, please, DO NOT PROTECT SOMEONE WHO SHOULD BE BEHIND BARS!”, stressed Gjorgjieska.
According to the investigation by the institutions so far, the nightclub didn’t have a hydrant network and sufficient extinguishers, pyrotechnic materials were used illegally inside, it did not have a legal operating license, and no written agreement was concluded between the organizer and the performing band. Some media outlets and social networks shared information that one of the doors was closed by the police due to raid, but Toshkovski says that this is a speculation because one of the doors was closed by the owner himself, not the police.
We could not verify from an independent source how many people were in the nightclub and whether one of the doors was closed by the owner.
Five people have been detained in the Internal Affairs Sector Skopje and the Internal Affairs Sector Tetovo and are being questioned, among which former Minister of Economy Kreshnik Bekteshi, as well as 13 people on the territory of the Internal Affairs Sector Shtip, of whom 11 are in short-term detention for 48 hours.
“Currently, 23 people are suspected, 11 are in custody, and today there will be new arrests of people in connection to the tragedy in Kochani, and some of them will also be from the Ministry of Interior”, said Toshkovski.
The “barn”, as Toshkovski called it, had been operating for 15 years in a facility registered for another purpose.
Minister of Interior Panche Toshkovski, as well as Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, are trying to shift the blame for the terrible tragedy onto the “rotten system” they inherited from previous governments.
“Corruption and crime are leading us to the point of losing the lives of our children. Either we will change something decisively and systematically, or we will not have this country”, said Toshkovski.
“Let’s call for unity and cohesion and focus on the facts and everything that is important for the beginning of a major reset of the system. A system that is pulling us all in and wants to swallow us up. We as politicians must demonstrate something different, something solid and principled, which will be able to overcome this system that is swallowing our country and is the main obstacle, threat and danger to whether this country will survive or not. Either we will make it this time or as a state we will cease to exist. This time there will be no withdrawal, emphasized the Prime Minister.
The Vice President and Spokesperson of the Democratic Union of Integration (DUI), Arber Ademi, stressed that full moral, material and criminal responsibility for this tragedy cannot be sought anywhere else but in the Government itself, the Ministry of Interior and the Municipality of Kochani.
“Since the morning hours when the first information arrived from Kochani, the media hawks of the ruling parties began laying the foundations for the grand spin that during the day developed into the official narrative of the Government, Ademi said in a statement before the “Karposh” police station, which was reported by some media outlets, while the questioning of the former Minister of Economy, Kreshnik Bekteshi, was ongoing in connection to the tragedy in Kochani.
Ademi said that a theory had started to develop by a portal as early as 9.00 am in that an Albanian was behind the event in Kochani
“Instead of the Minister of Interior, who has been a Minister for the last 14 months, taking responsibility for allowing the cabaret to operate without a license for 12 months, and to organize gatherings every day contrary to all legal regulations and standards, he is trying in a shameless way to shift the debate to an ethnic and party dimension”, said Ademi.
Prime Minister Mickoski reacts to the press conference of Ademi from DUI stressing that there will be no mercy for anyone, and if necessary, they would be dragged out of their homes by the ears.
“And here again I will say, to respond to those who are holding midnight press conferences, there is no politics here, all of you who dared to conduct politics in this way will be held accountable, on the backs of the citizens and the lives that these children have lost, and there will be no mercy, we will take them out of their homes, if they think that they are playing the ethnic card and playing politics with those midnight press conferences, we will take them out of their homes by the ears, they should know this”, says Prime Minister Mickoski.
On the social networks, party bots have intensified the “silent campaign” that the current government is not to blame for anything, but people from DUI and SDSM, namely, Kreshnik Bekteshi and Razmena Cekic Durovic.
There were also those who, even from this tragic event, spread Russian propaganda that Ex-Minister of Defense Slavjanka Petrovska gave the army helicopters to Ukraine and now there is nothing with which to transport the injured to the hospital.
“If Caci hadn’t given the helicopters to Ukraine, we would have something with which to transport the injured ourselves and not have to seek help from another army. Did the ARM disband itself…”, reads a post on the X platform.
Some of the citizens also demanded justice for those who died in the modular hospital in Tetovo, for the bus accidents in Bulgaria and Laskarci, etc.
But some citizens say that the system doesn’t function when it is precisely the government that bypasses it.
“A fake license is a problem, a fake diploma of the head of the ANS is not. Do you realize now Micika why you shouldn’t put people with fake diplomas in positions”, asks one on X.
Mayor of Kochani, Ljupco Papazov submitted his irrevocable resignation 24 hours after the tragic event
Papazov shared with the public why he hadn’t appeared in public yesterday. The reason for that, as he says, is because he is broken and will have a hard time surviving the tragedy of the city whose administration he headed.
“For me, after this tragedy, nothing has the same meaning anymore! These were our children! Many, rightly so, noted why I didn’t appear in public all day yesterday. But those who know me, know how broken I am and how I am experiencing what happened. It’s hard, and I will have a hard time surviving it”, says Papazov.
At the end, Papazov concludes with the view that he would have never thought that this is how his engagement as mayor would end.
“I have worked honestly and dedicatedly my entire life! I never thought that my engagement would end like this, but now I am stepping down from this position, praying to God for the souls of our children, for their families and the people of Macedonia!”, says Papazov.
Minister of Interior Panche Toshkovski, among else, stated that an official conversation was held with Papazov yesterday and that if any responsibility is found, he will be sanctioned.
Minister of Interior Toshkovski and Prime Minister Mickoski feel morally responsible, but as they say, they are not considering resigning until they have taken care of the corrupt system, and only then they will go to the elections.
“Let all the moral responsibility be on me, but first I will defeat this system, that is, it will be as it should be. Namely, all of this that we are starting today will bear fruit, and then there is no greater court then the court of the people in elections that should say whether and who should bear moral responsibility”, said Mickoski.
Minister of Health Arben Taravari today informed that the patients from the fire in Kochani are in generally stable condition, whereas 20 patients are in critical condition. He announced that possible complications are expected today and tomorrow. As he said, there are new patients who were part of the tragic event in Kochani, who hadn’t reported yesterday, but reported today.
“We finished with the meeting of the Crisis Headquarters and made a cross section of the situation. Fortunately, the patients who were brought yesterday to hospitals across the country are in stable condition. And those who were transferred out of the country, a total of 51 so far, are all in generally stable condition. However, a new problem is emerging in that there are patients who did not report yesterday, but are reporting today. I would like to send a message to all those who were part of the tragic event in Kochani and did not report yesterday, I ask them to report today”, said Taravari.
As he said, all the patients who were in Kochani and Shtip are now accommodated in Skopje. There are no more patients in Kochani and Stip. Taravari underlined that the situation is under control and that they expect fewer complications.
Students booed Minister Janevska at today’s protest while telling her “Don’t score political points from this tragedy”.
Following yesterday’s tragedy in Kochani, two protests were held today in honor of the young people who were killed, one in Skopje, organized by students, and another in Kochani, where the tragedy occurred. The students from Skopje who sympathize with the families of those killed and injured in the fire filled the plateau in front of UKIM exactly at noon, and with flowers and candles in their hands paid tribute to all those affected by the tragedy with a 7-minute silence.
Minister of Education Vesna Janevska also addressed the protest, who expressed regret for the incident and the loss of young lives. While she was speaking, a student became ill, but the Minister continued her speech, at which point the students booed her and told her that at that moment they didn’t want to listen to her and that she should not score political points.
Riots took place at the protest in Kochani. Citizens demolished the café “Classic” of the owner of the Pulse cabaret, after previously having thrown eggs at the Municipality building.
The government has declared a seven-day mourning period. In memory of the victims of the tragic incident in Kochani, seven days of mourning will begin today on the territory of the entire country. The National Flag of the country will be flown at half-mast today. Institutions have cancelled events.
Dehran Muratov
Translated by: N. Cvetkovska
