At least 51 people have been killed and more than 100 injured in a nightclub fire in North Macedonia, officials say.
The blaze is said to have started around 03:00 (02:00 GMT) at the Pulse club in Kocani, a town around 100 km (60 miles) east of the capital, Skopje. Footage posted on social media shows the building engulfed in flames.
As many as 1,500 were said to have been attending a concert by the band ADN, a hip-hop duo popular in the country.
Local media say the fire may have been caused by the use of pyrotechnic devices, with footage showing sparks from the stage catching on the ceiling before rapidly spreading. Interior Minister Pance Toskovski said some arrests had been made.
Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski wrote in a statement on Facebook that the government was “fully mobilised and will do everything necessary to deal with the consequences and determine the causes of this tragedy”
He called it “difficult and very sad day” for the country which has now lost “so many” young lives.
