Skopje, 16 March 2025 (MIA) — On an order from Bulgaria's Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov, a Bulgarian Air Force Spartan aircraft will transport five people critically injured in the Kochani nightclub fire from Skopje to Bulgarian hospitals.

According to the Bulgarian news agency BTA citing a Bulgarian government press release, the Spartan aircraft is carrying Bulgarian medical teams of emergency physicians and burn specialists.

The patients will be admitted to specialized burn wards in Sofia and Varna hospitals.

Bulgaria has offered medical help for the people injured in the fire, PM Zheljazkov announced earlier Sunday.

Hospitals in Sofia, Varna and Blagoevgrad have been placed on full alert and are ready to receive more burn patients.

Earlier, six Bulgarian emergency vehicles, equipped with oxygen tanks, arrived in Skopje.

According to the latest official information, 59 people were killed and 155 were injured in the Kochani nightclub fire that broke out around 2:30 am.

Interior Minister Panche Toshkovski said 31 out of the 35 identified bodies recovered from the ashes belonged to Kochani residents. It is not yet known how many people were at the nightclub when the fire broke out. mr/