Azernews.Az

At least 59 people have been killed and more than 155 injured in a nightclub fire in North Macedonia, officials say.
The blaze broke out around 02:30 (01:30 GMT) at the Pulse club in Kocani, a town around 100 km (60 miles) east of the capital, Skopje, where 1,500 people were attending a concert by DNK, a popular hip-hop duo in the country, Azernews reports.

Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski called it a "difficult and very sad day" for the country which had lost many "young lives."

Arrest warrants have been issued for four people, interior minister Pance Toskovski said at the scene, without giving any details. He announced the arrest of a man earlier and state news agency Mia said the club owner was detained.

Toskovski has also said that, according to initial reports, the fire had been started by sparks from pyrotechnic devices that had hit the ceiling, which was made of highly flammable material.

Footage shows the band playing on stage when two flares go off, sparks then catch fire on the ceiling before rapidly spreading.

It shows the club was still full and people appeared to be watching efforts to put out the fire, rather than leaving.