15 suspects arrested over North Macedonia disco fire that killed 59

At least 59 people were killed and more than 150 injured in a fire that ripped through a nightclub in North Macedonia during a hip-hop concert on Sunday. Following the incident, which occurred in the town of Kocani, authorities arrested 15 people on Monday.

The government decreed seven days of national mourning and flags are flying at half-mast across the country. Most of the victims are young people who were attending a concert by DNK, a popular hip-hop group in the country, at the Pulse nightclub in Kocani, 100 kilometers from the capital, Skopje. Only one member of the DNK band survived the fire.

The Minister of the Interior, Pance Toskovski, has indicated in declarations picked up by the BBC that the detainees will be interrogated. They would be, for the most part, managers and employees of the concert hall. In addition to the 15 detainees, there are five other people under investigation but who were taken to hospital.

According to Toskovski, the venue lacked a legal license to operate. He added that the investigation believes there may have been bribes to local authorities to allow the venue to host such concerts.

The establishment has been described in the local press as a "makeshift nightclub," having formerly been a carpet warehouse. In Europe, many such venues proliferate in the suburbs of cities that are victims of deindustrialization or the abandonment of businesses. They are often related to rave culture.

Biljana Arsovska, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office, told the BBC that there was only "one effective exit" in the building, as the back door of the premises was locked and could not be used.

Initial on-site inspections on Sunday had also shown several "anomalies" at the venue. "There are deficiencies in the fire suppression system and in the lighting system," he stated.

The fire started because of a pyrotechnics failure

"According to our initial information, the fire started as a result of sparks from pyrotechnic devices used at the concert," Toskovski told AFP.

"Most likely, the sparks reached the ceiling made of an easily flammable material, and then, in a very short time, the fire spread throughout the nightclub and thick smoke was formed," the interior minister added.

"I heard an explosion and the ceiling collapsed," a young man who was in the disco told local media. "We all ran towards a door that served both to enter and exit," he added.

Videos posted on social media before the fire showed some sort of indoor fireworks being used during the concert.