Belgrade: 62nd victim of fire at 'Puls' discotheque dies

(Patria) - Stojanče Stefanov, the 62nd victim of the fire at the discotheque in Kočani, died today at the Military Medical Academy (VMA) in Belgrade.

According to information from the VMA, Stojanče Stefanov (2001) from Kočani succumbed to his injuries sustained in the fire at the "Puls" discotheque in Kočani this morning.

It is specified that this is a patient who, from the first day, according to the initial triage by medical teams in Skopje, was immediately sent for treatment to the VMA in Belgrade.

For the past month, Stefanov had been intubated and was in critical condition. About 27 percent of his skin surface was affected by burns, and he also had severe injuries from smoke inhalation.

"He underwent surgery at the VMA on April 4th, and due to smoke inhalation, he was placed on an ECMO machine, which mechanically oxygenates the blood due to inhaled smoke.

However, due to the severity of his injuries, he was unstable and in a serious general condition for most of his hospitalization," announced the Ministry of Health of North Macedonia.

The fire at the "Puls" discotheque in Kočani, a town about 100 kilometers east of Skopje, broke out on March 16th at 2:30 AM due to the use of pyrotechnics at a concert by the group DNK.