(16 Mar 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kocani, North Macedonia – 16 March 2025
1. Families of the victims gathered outside hospital
2. Medical workers, people
3. Families of the victims
4. Various of Dragi Stojanov, father of victim Tomce Stojanov shouting UPSOUND (Macedonian) "Who killed my child? Who killed my child?"
5. Mother of victim (no name given) shouting UPSOUND (Macedonian):
"For what? For what? For what?"
6. Mother of victim (no name given) confronting man and shouting UPSOUND (Macedonian):
"They are only asking me about money. Money, money. I have lost my child. What if his child died – the prime minister’s?"
7. Parents hugging each other in crowd UPSOUND (Macedonian) Mother of victim (no name given):
"I have money to bury my child. I don’t need their money. A message to the prime minister and all of them – I don’t need money. I don’t need money. I need my child. I had a happy life. I had enough money. Now my child is gone. My only child."
UPSOUND (Macedonian) Dragi Stojanov, father of victim Tomce Stojanov:
"Why is the mayor not here? Why didn’t the mayor send an inspection to check up on this club?"
8. SOUNDBITE (Macedonian) Mother of victim (no name given):
"I had only one child. One, only one, and they took it away from me. The door on the club was like a door of a ruined basement. That’s what kind of a door that club had. It should have five different doors. Five doors. Let them all film me. Let them film me."
9. Crowd of parents
10. Police outside hospital
STORYLINE:
Several parents of the teenage victims of a club fire in North Macedonia gathered outside a hospital in Kocani Sunday, preventing coroners from taking away the bodies of their children.
A massive fire tore through an overcrowded nightclub in the country, killing 59 people and injuring 155 in a chaotic escape during a live concert.
The tragedy drew messages of support from around the world but focused national attention on corruption in the small Balkan country as authorities detained 15 people.
Resident Dragi Stojanov was informed that his 21-year-old son Tomce was one of the victims of the fire.
"Who killed my child? Who killed my child?" he yelled at authorities outside Kocani hospital.
The pre-dawn blaze in the eastern town left mostly young people dead and injured due to burns, smoke inhalation and a stampede in the desperate effort to reach the building’s single exit.
"The door on the club was like a door of a ruined basement. That’s what kind of a door that club had. It should have five different doors. Five doors," yelled a distressed mother of one of the victims.
Videos showed sparkling pyrotechnics on the stage hitting the ceiling followed by scenes of chaos inside the club, with young people running through the smoke as the musicians urged them to escape as quickly as possible.
North Macedonia’s Interior Minister Panche Toshkovski said 15 people had been detained for questioning after a preliminary inspection revealed the club was operating without a proper license.
He said that the number of people inside the club was at least double its official capacity of 250.
Parents of the decased said they want to bury their children in peace.
They protested the government’s offer for financial help, instead demanding a thorough investigation.
"I don’t need money. I need my child," said the mother of a victim.
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