site.btaUPDATED Bulgaria Offers Condolences, Sends Aid after Nightclub Tragedy in North Macedonia, No Bulgarian Citizens among Victims

Bulgarian political leaders extended their condolences and offered assistance to North Macedonia following a nightclub fire that broke out in the early hours of Sunday in the town of Kocani, leaving 59 dead and more than 80 injured. A Bulgarian Air Force plane flew to North Macedonia and brought for treatment in Bulgaria eight of those injured in the tragedy.

President Rumen Radev said that Bulgaria shares the pain of the people of the Republic of North Macedonia over the fire in Kocani, which left many dead and injured. In a conversation with North Macedonia's head of State, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, he expressed his condolences to the families who lost their loved ones. 

Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov said that Bulgaria has offered its help in the form of medical treatment to the victims of the fire. "I have ordered full readiness for admission in the clinical bases in Sofia and Varna. The Bulgarian Air Force is ready to transport those in need of treatment," Zhelyazkov said. "The fire at a nightclub in Kocani is a huge human tragedy. I offer my condolences to the relatives of the victims and my wishes for the recovery of the injured," he added.

Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev spoke by phone with his counterpart from North Macedonia Timco Mucunski. He offered the sincere condolences of the Bulgarian Government and people to the families and relatives of the victims, expressed hope for a speedy recovery of the injured and underlined Bulgaria's readiness to provide assistance and help for the treatment of the wounded on its territory.

Later in the day, the Foreign Ministry said that at present, there are no reports of Bulgarian citizens injured in the tragic incident. The Bulgarian Embassy in Skopje is in constant contact with the Macedonian authorities and continues to monitor the situation, the statement added.

The leadership of the Defence Ministry also expressed its condolences to the families and relatives of the victims.

Bulgaria Sends Aid

A Spartan airplane of the Bulgarian Air Force flew to North Macedonia by order of Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov and brought to Sofia eight of those injured in the Kocani tragedy, the Bulgarian government said in a press release. Five of the patients are seriously injured and were put on ventilator support. Five members of the group were taken to the Pirogov Emergency Hospital in Sofia, and the other three, with major burns, remained on board the Spartan to be carried on to the Military Medical Academy branch in the Black Sea city of Varna.

A further five people in grave condition and on ventilator support are expected to be transported from North Macedonia to Bulgaria later on Sunday in ambulances of the Sofia Centre for Emergency Medical Care. Three of them will be taken to the St George Hospital in Plovdiv, and the other two will receive treatment at Sofia's Pirogov, the Bulgarian government said.

The Ministry of Health said it has set up an organisation to provide medical assistance if needed to victims of the fire in North Macedonia. A task force headed by Health Minister Silvi Kirilov has been formed and necessary organisation has been set up to provide full medical assistance to those injured, if necessary. Kirilov is in constant contact with his counterpart in North Macedonia and has assured Bulgaria's readiness to provide assistance and support. 

Other Reactions

People gathered in front of the North Macedonia Embassy in Sofia to pay tribute to the victims of the Kocani incident and to express their sympathy. Former Bulgarian ambassador to Skopje Angel Angelov laid flowers on behalf of Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev and on his own behalf. Members of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization were also there.

The Head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC), Patriarch Daniil, conducted a telephone conversation with the Head of the Macedonian Orthodox Church, Archbishop Stefan, the BOC Holy Synod reported on its website. Daniil said Orthodox Christians in Bulgaria pray for peace for the souls of the dead, comfort for the bereaved and quick recovery of the injured. Stefan thanked for the sympathy and the prayers.

National Assembly Chair Nataliya Kiselova sent a message to her counterpart in North Macedonia Afrim Gashi to express her condolences and those of all Bulgarian MPs for the dozens who died in tragic circumstances at the nightclub. "At this difficult moment for the brotherly people of the Republic of North Macedonia, we stand with them and with the families of the victims in their personal tragedy and unbearable loss," she wrote.

GERB-UDF Floor Leader Boyko Borissov said on Facebook that he had held a telephone conversation with the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Hristijan Mickoski, and expressed his "sincere condolences to the relatives of the victims of the nightclub fire in Kocani". 

Vazrazhdane Floor Leader Kostadin Kostadinov sent a condolence telegram to North Macedonia's President, Prime Minister and Ambassador to Bulgaria. "We mourn with you for the great tragedy that has befallen North Macedonia. I offer my sincere condolences for the deaths of the young people who died in the brutal fire in the town of Kocani," the telegram said.

Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) - New Beginning Floor Leader Delyan Peevski said Bulgaria and its people should come to North Macedonia's aid. "The huge tragedy that claimed dozens of lives in the nightclub fire in Kocani, North Macedonia has shaken our common home - the Balkans," he added.

Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) Chair Atanas Zafirov has sent a letter of condolences to North Macedonia's President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova and Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski. "At this difficult time, Bulgaria is with you - with its thoughts, its support and its readiness to help," he wrote and expressed his deep sympathy to the families and relatives of the victims.

Democracy, Rights and Freedoms - DRF offered condolences to the families and relatives of the victims. In a Facebook post on Sunday, the parliamentary group wrote that "at this difficult time, we share the pain of the people of the Republic of North Macedonia and pray for the speedy recovery of all those affected".

There Is Such a People leader Stanislav Trifonov expressed his sincerest condolences to North Macedonia. "Tragedy does not choose countries, time, age, circumstance. It is the worst when young people die. Now it has visited North Macedonia," he wrote on Facebook.