Sofia, March 18 (IANS) The Bulgarian government declared Tuesday a national day of mourning for the victims of the nightclub fire in North Macedonia that killed at least 59 people.
In a statement on Monday evening, the Bulgarian government extended its condolences to the relatives of the victims.
The government said that the national flags on all state institutions will be flown at half-mast.
Earlier on Monday, the government said in another press release that 14 people injured in the fire are being treated in Bulgarian hospitals, and the country, which shares a border with North Macedonia, was ready to accept more.
It also said that the Bulgarian state also provided transportation and accommodation for the relatives of the injured people.
According to information from the Bulgarian Ministry of Health, eight of the 14 North Macedonians were taken to a hospital in Sofia, three in Varna, and three in Plovdiv, Xinhua news agency reported.
The patients, aged from 15 to 49 years, were in serious condition with burns and inhalation of hot gases, the ministry said.
Police have detained 15 people after a fire at a nightclub in North Macedonia killed at least 59 people, officials have said.
The blaze broke out around 02:30 local time (01:30 GMT) on Sunday at the Pulse club in Kocani, where about 500 people had gathered for a concert by DNK, a popular hip-hop duo in the country.
Interior Minister Pance Toskovski has said the detainees will be questioned, adding that there are “grounds for suspicion that there is bribery and corruption” linked to the fire.
The venue, in a town around 100km (60 miles) east of the capital, Skopje, has been described as an “improvised nightclub” in the local press, having previously been a carpet warehouse.
Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski called it a “difficult and very sad day” for the country, which had lost many “young lives”.
The government has declared seven days of national mourning, and the government is holding an emergency session as part of ongoing investigations on how the incident unfolded.
North Macedonia’s President, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, said she was shocked “as a mother, as a person, as a President”. Addressing the bereaved directly, she added: “Your immense pain is mine too.”
–IANS
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