Skopje, 16 March 2025 (MIA) - The Interior Ministry in coordination with the Public Prosecutor’s Office has identified more than 20 suspects in connection to last night’s fire at a nightclub in Kochani, 15 of which have been detained, Interior Minister Panche Toshkovski told journalists Sunday.

Toshkovski said the company had no legal license to operate and added he could not reveal any more details at this point of the investigation but stressed that “like many things in the past, this is related to bribery and corruption”.

“In this case, those involved in illegally issuing licenses have a name, and they will be held to account,” Toshkovski said.

The Minister said some of the suspects are dead, some are in the hospital. “Four people are currently secured in the hospital – two members of the band, the son of the owner of the nightclub and the manager of the legal entity that operated with the nightclub”. 

“Some of the detained are directly responsible for this event, in accordance with the collected evidence. One of the detained individuals organized the event, and we suspect he is one of those who is directly responsible. Additionally, other detainees include the former state secretary at the Ministry of Economy, former manager of one sector at the Ministry of Economy, former head of the Protection and Rescue Directorate and three employees at the Directorate,” Toshkovski said.

The Interior Minister added that some of the detainees include people involved in the security of the event and other activities during the event.

Toshkovski said police officers in Skopje have interviewed over 25 eyewitnesses and will continue to gather evidence.

Photo: MIA Archive