Death toll from North Macedonia nightclub fire rises to 59

BBC- At least 59 people have been killed and more than 155 injured in a nightclub fire in North Macedonia, officials say.

The blaze broke out around 02:30 (01:30 GMT) at the Pulse club in Kocani, a town around 100 km (60 miles) east of the capital, Skopje, where 1,500 people were attending a concert by DNK, a popular hip-hop duo in the country.

Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski called it a “difficult and very sad day” for the country which had now lost so many “young lives.”

Arrest warrants have been issued for four people, interior minister Pance Toskovski said at the scene, without giving any details. He had announced the arrest of a man earlier.

Marija Taseva, 20, told Channel 5 TV she was caught in a crush at the club as people rushed for the exits. She said she fell to the ground and was trampled in the chaos before managing to get out.

Her family were still searching for her 25-year-old sister, though, who had not been found in any local hospital – and may have been transferred to Skopje for treatment.

The interior minister had earlier announced a death toll of 51 – with some 100 injured.

In his update, he said 35 of the deceased had already been identified.

Kocani’s hospital director said earlier that staff had been struggling to identify patients due to a lack of ID cards.