<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>As families gathered at a hospital for updates, Tomco Stojanov already knew his son's devastating fate: 25-year-old Andrej was killed in the nightclub fire that left dozens dead, many trampled during a desperate bid to escape.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Thank you for your condolences, but my pain is incurable. The wound is incurable," Stojanov said, holding up a photograph of his son, clean-shaven and wearing a suit jacket. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"He died while returning and entering to save other people. And he was pushed, run over, that's how my son died."</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/man-arrested-adelaide-after-body-found-in-park/b2204d9a-450d-4f5c-8c1f-b062c025942d"><strong><span>'Generous' dad allegedly murdered on morning walk</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>North Macedonia is grappling with the loss of dozens of young lives in Sunday's nightclub inferno in the eastern town of Kocani, and trying to hold those responsible to account and prevent another calamity.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Authorities were investigating allegations of bribery surrounding the fire in the nightclub, which was crammed with young revellers and at double capacity.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/north-macedonia-nightclub-fire-dozens-killed-in-massive-fire-in-kocani/f10d5a4a-0263-4861-92c0-e2e028045d77" rel="" target="" title="Fire tore through the overcrowded Club Pulse during a live concert"><span>Fire tore through the overcrowded Club Pulse during a live concert</span></a><span>, leaving 59 people dead and more than 150 injured from burns, smoke inhalation and being trampled in the panicked rush toward the building's single exit.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/north-macedonia-investigates-bribery-allegations-tied-to-club-fire-that-killed-59-people/9b46564a-3596-4255-bd0a-59fcbb70c7e9" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Videos showed sparkling pyrotechnics on the stage hitting the club's ceiling and igniting the blaze as a band played.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The tragedy shook the nation of 2 million — where close-knit extended family bonds made the disaster personal to many — was the latest in a string of deadly nightclub fires around the world. People as young as 16 were among the casualties, and the nation declared seven days of mourning.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We are all in shock, and I am shocked myself: as a mother, as a person, as a president," North Macedonian President Gordana Davkova Siljanovska said in an address to the nation on Sunday night (Monday morning AEDT).</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/sydney-news-multi-car-crash-m4-motorway-eastern-creek-peak-hour/2852e990-c6f4-4d95-a84e-af4ca11261ad" rel="" target="" title=""><strong><span>Man fighting for life after four-car highway crash</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>Safety code violations in the club</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>North Macedonia's government ordered a sweeping three-day inspection to be carried out at all nightclubs and cabarets across the country, starting on Monday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>State prosecutor Ljupco Kocevski said a preliminary inspection of the nightclub had revealed numerous safety code violations, including a lack of emergency exits, an insufficient number of fire extinguishers and improper access for emergency vehicles.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The fire caused the roof of the single-storey building to partially collapse, revealing the charred remains of wooden beams and debris.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The omissions are significant. I can confidently say that this is a failure of the system," the prosecutor told reporters, also noting the lack of an overhead extinguisher system and fire alarms and the use of flammable materials to line the inside walls.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The country was in mourning as people watched harrowing scenes in the town of 25,000 people, where rescuers for hours carried out the grim task of removing the charred bodies of clubgoers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A state coroner said the bodies were being brought for identification in batches from morgues due to the high number of people killed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>Neighbouring countries provide help</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Flags around the country have been lowered to half-mast, and the death toll may rise further, with 20 of the injured in a critical condition, Health Minister Arben Taravari said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Neighbouring and nearby countries including Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Turkey have already accepted some 50 patients with the most serious injuries, while several countries are also sending medical teams to North Macedonia, officials said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"All patients who have been transferred abroad are currently in stable condition. We hope it stays that way and that we will receive positive news from abroad," Taravari said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Officials said 10 people remain in police custody for questioning in Kocani, some 115 kilometres east of the capital, Skopje. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Interior Minister Panche Toshkovski added that a preliminary inspection revealed the club was operating without a proper licence. He said the number of people inside the club was at least double its official capacity of 250.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Condolences poured in from leaders around Europe as well as from the office of the hospitalised Pope Francis.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Late on Sunday, Kocani's residents held a candlelight vigil in support for mourning families, waiting in long lines to light church candles.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Beti Delovska, an economist from Skopje, said North Macedonia has never experienced a tragedy like this, with dozens of young people vanishing in minutes. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And she noted that many young people with bright futures had already left the nation, in search of opportunities elsewhere.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"(North) Macedonia is on its death bed," Delovska said. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We have no more credible institutions, the health system is completely dismantled, education is poor, judiciary is partisan and corrupted to the bone. … I do believe now that only God can save (North) Macedonia."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em></em><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f"><em><strong><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></strong></em></a><em><strong><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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