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

Bulgarian political leaders have 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. 

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.

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. Six ambulances with six medical teams left Bulgaria for North Macedonia on Sunday, the Emergency Medical Centre - Sofia told BTA.

National Assembly Chair Nataliya Kiselova expressed her condolences and those of all 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 in a condolence message to her counterpart in North Macedonia Afrim Gashi.

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.