A silent protest held in N Macedonia on Monday turned violent, as crowds demanded justice for the 59 people killed in a nightclub fire in the early hours of Sunday.
The public attributes the deadly fire to widespread corruption, as it has quickly been determined that the nightclub’s operating license was illegally obtained. Additionally, the club did not meet basic safety standards as the venue only had one emergency exit, which was locked, lacked fire extinguishers, and had no sprinkler system.
People attend a protest in front of a municipality building following a fire at the Pulse nightclub that resulted in dozens of deaths, in the town of Kocani, North Macedonia, March 17, 2025. REUTERS/Marko Djurica
The nightclub, called Pulse, is located in the small N Macedonia town of Kocani, which lies 80 km west of the capital of Skopje and has just a 25,000 person population.
The club caught on fire around 3 a.m. on Sunday when sparks from pyrotechnics caught the ceiling on fire. Survivors say that the flames quickly spread across the roof and, as the club was packed beyond capacity, some were trampeled to death as club-goers attempted to exit the front door of the club. Around 150 were injured and burn victims have been transported to hospitals in neighboring countries, such as Greece.
Police officers block protesters as they try to approach the house of the mayor of Kocani, following a fire at the Pulse nightclub that resulted in dozens of deaths, in the town of Kocani, North Macedonia, March 17, 2025. REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis
Attendees of the protest briefly attacked both the mayor’s house and a pub run by the owner of Pulse, throwing rocks and smashing windows of both properties.
People of the town express their anger and disgust at the state of politics in N. Macedonia, and held signs at the protest which read “We are not dying from accidents; we are dying from corruption” and “Everything is legal here if you have connections.”
A damaged car is seen on a street during a protest following a fire in the club that resulted in dozens of deaths, in the town of Kocani, North Macedonia, March 17, 2025. REUTERS/Marko Djurica
The tragic accident at the Pulse nightclub reminds us that over a quarter of all deadly fires at nightclubs in the world are caused by the use of pyrotechnics and fireworks indoors, making it the leading cause.
