SURVIVORS of the devastating nightclub fire that killed 59 in North Macedonia have given horrifying accounts of wading through charred bodies to escape.
The grim details come as 15 people have been arrested over the blaze at the “illegal” club – which allegedly operated under a string of safety violations.
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A blaze ripped through Club Pulse in Kocani, north-east of the country, at 2:35am during a concert on Sunday morning,
Scores of young partygoers died, with the youngest just 14, and 155 more were injured.
The inferno was sparked by on-stage pyrotechnics that set fire to the highly-flammable roof of the heaving club, officials said.
Survivors needed hospital treatment for severe burns, smoke inhalation and trample injuries sustained in the chaos.
One survivor told Sky News: “The fire broke out suddenly and everyone started running for the exit.
“There were charred bodies. I don’t know…everyone is stressed.”
She added that her sister fell over in the panic and was “stomped on” by the crowd.
A father of one of the victims said he witnessed sickening scenes with revellers “burnt beyond recognition” by the flames.
Only 39 of those who died have so far been identified, according to Interior minister Pance Toskovski.
Poppular hip-hop due DNK was performing on the night, with one of the members killed.
People detained include government officials, the club’s manager and the owner’s son, according to Toskovski.
He said they would be questioned after the club was found to be operating without the proper licence.
He added that there are “grounds for suspicion that there is bribery and corruption” linked to the fire – and that double the legal capacity was crammed inside on Saturday night.
The venue was described as an “improved nightclub” by local press, alongside reports it was a repurposed carpet warehouse.
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State Prosecutor Ljupco Kocevski said the club was covered in illegal, easily-flammable soundproofing material, PlusInfo reports.
He said there was no fire hydrant supply and not enough fire extinguishers.
There was also reportedly only one improvised metal exit door at the back of the building – but it was padlocked with no handle on the inside.
The building had no door braking system nor a proper fire alarm, the prosecutor said.
And Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said the licence had been issued illegally by the economy ministry.
He said those responsible would face justice “regardless of who they are, from which institution, from what level, from which party and profession”.
Gordana Davkova Siljanovska, the country’s president, said Sunday night: “We are all in shock, and I am shocked myself: as a mother, as a person, as a president.
“I still cannot believe that the terrible tragedy in Kocani is a reality. I do not know with what words to express my condolences to the parents and loved ones of the deceased.”
The president also vowed that those responsible would not “escape the law, justice and punishment”.
The government has ordered a sweeping three-day inspection of all nightclubs around the country, starting on Monday.
Video posted on social media shows how the building was quickly engulfed in flames as clouds of smoke billow into the sky.
Terrifying sparks can be seen bursting through the roof in a separate clip.
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Further accounts include that of Marija Taseva, 20, who told Channel 5 TV she was caught in the crush, and that her sister died.
She said: “I don’t know how, but somehow I managed to get out. I’m fine now, but there are many dead.”
Of her 25-year-old sister who died, she said: “I was saved and she wasn’t.”
Red Cross volunteer Mustafa Saidov said most of the victims were young people aged between 18 and 20.
And officials say more than 20 of the injured and three of those killed were under 18.
Mustafa said: “The situation is brutal, chaotic, the stories are very sad, and unfortunately many young lives are lost.”
Dr Vladislav Gruev, a plastic surgeon at the University Clinic for Surgical Diseases in the capital Skopje, told the BBC most of the patients had extensive burns.
He said: “[They have] second and third degree burns in the head, neck and upper torso.”
