Another suspect for the fire in Kočani: The owner of the building will be prosecuted

According to the court announcement, he is suspected of being an accomplice to serious crimes against public security.

"From the actions taken so far in the course of the proceedings, evidence has been provided that indicates a well-founded suspicion that the suspect, as the owner of the real estate - the building where the night club has been operating for years, leased it to one of the previous suspects," the prosecution stated, the Skopje1 portal reported.

The prosecution stated that the suspected owner of the real estate, without submitting a request and obtaining approval for the conversion of the building from the competent authority, jointly and in agreement with the suspected informal owner of the night club on several occasions in the period from 2012 to March 2025, "undertook construction activities" through which he carried out the illegal conversion of the building.

As it was announced, those construction works led to the conversion of the building into a large catering unit, "and enabled the illegal performance of disco/cabaret catering activities".

The fire in the night club "Pulse" in Kočani broke out on March 16, two and a half hours after midnight, and according to reports, the fire broke out during the concert of the group "DNK" and the cause was most likely the use of pyrotechnics. ​

More than 200 people, mostly young people, were injured in the fire, and 61 died. A total of 35 people are suspected of the fire in Kočani, the investigation includes 28 individuals and three legal entities, and investigations are also being conducted against seven police officers of the Štip Police Department and the Kočani Police Station.