Volkswacht Bodensee - Pain and anger grip N. Macedonia town after fire tragedy

In the town of just 30,000 people, the deaths of 59 people -- most of them teenagers and young adults -- touched almost every home, with the agony of losing so many young people cutting especially deep.

"We are a small place. We all know each other," Sasko Jordanov, a 38-year-old dentist in Kocani, told AFP. "I am a doctor and have many patients dead, children of friends and neighbours."

"I have children -- their friends died. This is horrible," said a woman as she lit candles at a makeshift shrine, where others left flowers and messages of condolence.

The fire rapidly spread as a crowd of young fans packed into Club Pulse to attend the performance by a popular hip-hop band, DNK.

The blaze was apparently started by fireworks onstage igniting the ceiling of the nightclub.

More than 500 people were crammed inside despite just 250 tickets being sold, according to officials.

Many of those killed were trampled as they rushed to the exits, while the roof was consumed with flames.

The prosecutor's office said the club had breached numerous fire regulations, including having insufficient extinguishers and emergency exits.

Interior Minister Pance Toskovski said investigators had determined the club owner operated under a forged licence, and vowed to crackdown on corruption.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Toskovski said that he would replace local police in nearby towns of Veles and Shtip with officers from the capital Skopje to ensure the probe into the blaze remains impartial.

"This decision does not imply any guilt but is a step to guarantee that the process proceeds without pressure, suspicion, or undue influence," he said.

Toskovski said that all the victims had been identified and that 16 suspects remained in custody over the blaze, with investigators having questioned 72 witnesses.

Some 196 were hurt as a result of the fire, including 20 children, he said.

- 'Catastrophe' -

The tragedy triggered a widening criminal investigation, as authorities vowed that arrests were imminent.

Thousands have gathered to pay their respects across North Macedonia, with many holding minutes of silence to mourn.

But sadness has quickly turned to anger, with mourners voicing anger at the state.

In Kocani on Monday, protesters took to the streets, while others attacked a cafe allegedly owned by the same proprietor as Club Pulse, throwing rocks and breaking windows as police struggled to maintain order.

A local priest was finally able to calm tempers.

"Please calm down. I ask you in the name of God to go and bury the kids and then if you want, burn the town down," said the priest, in a video of the incident shared online.

But with more protests planned, the situation could escalate again soon.

On Tuesday, the country's Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said the response to the tragedy would be swift.

"As a government, we are doing everything we can and will continue to do everything we can to save human lives," Mickoski said during a press conference.

But in Kocani, many in the town had only begun to pick up the pieces.

At a cemetery on the outskirts of the town, grave diggers had begun preparing burial plots for the dozens who perished in the fire.

With pickaxes, shovels and backhoes, workers measured plots with the lid of a coffin as they dug a fresh row of graves under a cold grey sky.

For many, the pain was just too much to bear.

"It's horrible. I have a cousin -- her child died," said one resident who worked near Club Pulse and asked not to give his name.

"This is a great catastrophe."

D.Schaer--VB