Police detain 15 after North Macedonia nightclub fire kills 59
Police have detained 15 people following a devastating fire at the Pulse nightclub in Kocani, North Macedonia, which claimed the lives of at least 59 people, officials confirmed.
Interior Minister Pance Toskovski said the detainees will be questioned, adding that there are "grounds for suspicion that there is bribery and corruption" linked to the fire, News.Az reports, citing BBC.
The blaze broke out around 02:30 local time (01:30 GMT) on Sunday at the Pulse club in Kocani, where about 500 people had gathered for a concert by DNK, a popular hip-hop duo in the country.
Only one member of the band survived and was being treated in hospital, a spokesman for the public prosecutors office told BBC. In total, 155 were injured at the concert.
He said that the venue did not have a legal licence to operate.
The venue, in a town around 100km (60 miles) east of the capital, Skopje, has been described as an "improvised nightclub" in the local press, having previously been a carpet warehouse.
Citing initial reports, Toskovski said the fire had been started by sparks from pyrotechnic devices that had hit the ceiling, which was made of highly flammable material.
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