North Macedonian nightclub manager dies in Vilnius after fire injuries

VILNIUS – One of the four patients flown to Lithuania for treatment after last month's major nightclub fire in North Macedonia has died in a Vilnius hospital.

According to North Macedonian media, the patient was Aleksandar Karadakoski, the manager of the Pulse nightclub. 

He is the 60th person to die as a result of the tragedy.

Irmina Frolova-Milasiene, an adviser to the health minister, confirmed to BNS on Friday that one of the two critically injured North Macedonian nationals brought to Lithuania has died.

Frolova-Milasiene said the other patient in critical condition remains in a hospital in Vilnius, while a minor injured in the fire is being treated in Kaunas.

"One person has recovered and has already returned home," she told BNS.

The four patients were flown to Lithuania in mid-March.

The blaze broke out during a concert at the Pulse nightclub in the eastern town of Kocani at around 2:30 a.m. local time on March 16. The fire started when stage pyrotechnics ignited the ceiling, and the flames quickly spread. 

The fire left 60 people dead and 155 injured.

Following the tragedy, North Macedonia appealed to EU countries through the Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) to take in 15 patients suffering from severe burns. 

Lithuania responded by accepting four.