At least 59 people lost their lives and more than 100 were injured after a major fire tore through a nightclub in North Macedonia on Sunday (Mar 16), the country's interior minister said. The revellers were attending a hip-hop concert at the venue. 

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"According to the data we have by now, 59 persons lost their lives, and more than 100 persons are injured and transported in the hospitals in Stip, Kocani and Skopje," interior minister Pance Toskovski said after visiting the scene in Kocani. 

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Kocani is a town some 100 kilometres (60 miles) east of the capital Skopje, where "around 1,500 people attended a concert". 

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State news agency MIA reported that the fire broke out in "Pulse", a nightclub in the small town with around 30,000 inhabitants during a concert by DNK, a hip-hop duo popular in the country. 

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Mostly young people were attending the concert, which reportedly started at midnight on Sunday.  According to an online media outlet SDK, the fire started at 3:00 am (0200 GMT), and gave a tally of more than 100 injured. The wounded were taken either to the local Kocani hospital or to Stip, some 30 kilometres south of the town.

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A video from the event, shared on social media platforms and verified by the news agency Reuters, shows a band playing on stage flanked by two flares firing white sparks into the air. 

The sparks seem to set the ceiling alight above the band. 

Disclaimer: WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of photos and videos shared on social media.

(With inputs from agencies)