Workers dig graves to cope with numbers killed in North Macedonia nightclub fire

Record ID: 1984105

  • Title: Workers dig graves to cope with numbers killed in North Macedonia nightclub fire
  • Date: 17th March 2025
  • Summary: KOCANI, NORTH MACEDONIA (MARCH 17, 2025) (REUTERS) VARIOUS DRONE FOOTAGE SHOWING EXCAVATORS DIGGING FRESH GRAVES FOR THE BURIAL OF NIGHTCLUB FIRE VICTIMS AT LOCAL CEMETERY (MUTE) VARIOUS OF WORKERS, DIGGERS AND EXCAVATORS DIGGING GRAVES (SOUNDBITE) (Macedonian) KUMANOVO MUNICIPALITY WORKER, RIDVAN SELAMI, SAYING: "It is a terrible feeling, but what can we do? We've been br
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  • Keywords: BURIAL SITE CEMETERY KOCANI NIGHTCLUB FIRE NORTH MACEDONIA VICTIMS
  • Location: KOCANI, NORTH MACEDONIA
  • City: KOCANI, NORTH MACEDONIA
  • Country: Macedonia
  • Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Fires
  • Reuters ID: LVA001939217032025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Fresh graves were being dug in Kocani's local cemetery on Monday (March 17) for the victims of the nightclub fire that killed 59 people in North Macedonia in the early hours of Sunday morning.
    Workers with bulldozers had to be brought in to cope with the number of graves needed, in a small town where most people knew someone who had lost a child, local residents said.
    As bulldozers and workers with shovels dug a line of fresh graves in the local cemetery on the edge of Kocani, around 50 miles (80 km) east of the capital Skopje, one worker told how exceptionally difficult the task was this time.
    "It is a terrible feeling," Ridvan Selami said, "but what can we do? We've been brought here by the municipality of Kumanovo to help."
    Hundreds of people scrambled for the small venue’s only exit as flames spread across the roof after sparks ignited the ceiling as a live band performed leaving many trapped in the country’s deadliest incident in years.
    Authorities on Monday were working on identifying the victims as many people still searched for their missing loved ones.
    Some 20 people have been arrested in connection with the fire, including government officials and the nightclub's manager,.
    (Production: Fatos Bytyci, Marko Djurica, Deniz Uyar)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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