The flags were still flying in the half mast in North Macedonia, tearing up nightclubs and bringing dozens of people to the streets in protest, saddening the fire that killed dozens of people.
In Kochani, the town where the fire destroyed the Pulse venue early on Sunday, demonstrators called for justice to the 59 people who lost their lives and called for an end to corrupt practices blamed for tragedy.
“We hope that everyone who helped with this place will continue their business,” said 16-year-old Giovan, referring to the nightclub that joined other protesters in Kochani's central square. “It's a corrupt country, so there's a need for change.”
A few minutes later, the rally fell into violence as a young man throwing the rock looted a cafe believed to belong to the owner of the nightclub.
With over 150 people injured and over 50 people transferred to specialized hospitals in Greece, Turkey, Serbia and Bulgaria, few people have been close family bonds in small Balkan countries that are not affected by the disaster.
Like Giovan, who lost a friend at Inferno, most of the victims were teenagers or young adults who crammed their pulses into the long-awaited night with popular hip-hop duo DNK. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, of more than 20 injured and those killed, three were under the age of 18.
On Monday, relatives provided DNA samples as part of a rigorous procedure of identifying deaths outside the hospital, allowing bulldozers and workers to dig into the graves of Kochani, a town of less than 30,000 residents 60 miles east of the capital city. Funerals are expected later this week. An autopsy will be conducted once.
“I will not have mercy,” the country's prime minister, Fristijan Mikoski, said on Sunday. “No one in Macedonia has a spirit that is not broken and has been destroyed after this.”
Mickoski said a preliminary investigation revealed that entertainment venues were operating illegally under invalid licenses obtained from the country's Ministry of Economy “in exchange for bribes.”
Former Kochani mayor, Ratko Dimitrovsky, refused to issue nightclub permits as he failed to meet basic safety standards.
The fire broke out around 02.30, when sparks from fireworks devices, where fireworks and flares were described, burned the roof. Many of the victims died in the crowd that followed as panic attacked people tried to escape.
By Monday, the scale of the security violation had been stripped naked by the country's state prosecutor, Ljupco Kocevski. The former carpet warehouse building had no fire alarm systems, only two fire extinguishers and ceilings made of highly flammable materials.
“There were no two exit doors, but there was only one improvised metal door behind the building and no handles inside,” Kocevski said, listing the violations. “According to fire safety regulations, the fire engines were not accessible from either side. There were rows of plasterboards inside the building, but they were not fire resistant.”
A local media outlet described the previous warehouse as an “improvised nightclub.”
Among the 20 people detained in connection with the disaster is former Minister of Economy, Kresnik Bektesi. His top aides allegedly signed the document, officials from various state agencies, and venue managers.
“Detainees will be questioned because of the grounds of suspicion of bribery and corruption related to the fire,” Interior Minister Pans Toskovsky told reporters. “The number of people in the club doubled the official ability of at least 250.”
The first report suggested that it was in as many as 1,500 venues when the flames broke out. On Monday, as authorities stepped up testing at nightclubs across the country, Mikoski said she was surprised to find that despite the number of such venues across the country, only 12 nightclubs were issued last year.
“The situation in this issue is shocking,” he said he visited several of the injured at Mother Teresa Hospital in Skopje.
The right-wing-led government, which has been in power since last year, has declared seven days of mourning for the people in honor of the dead. A memorial meeting is also being held.
Thousands of students gathered at Skopje University on Monday to silently protest against their vows to repeat it every day within the next week. More rallyings are expected on Tuesday after citizen groups urged people to apply further pressure on the government to gather in the city centres around North Macedonia.
