Almost a year after the tragic fire in the so-called "Pulse" cabaret, the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) Kocani informs citizens that the procedure for returning personal belongings found at the scene has begun.
All injured persons, family members of the deceased, as well as visitors who were present at the facility on March 16, 2025, can pick up the items.
The premises of the Kocani Regional Police Department at 12 Todosija Paunov Street, from where items can be picked up, will be open from today until Friday from 9 a.m. to 18 p.m.
The items that were subject to processing during the post-fire inspection included personal belongings belonging to the victims and visitors.
Among the items that will be returned are mobile phones, wallets, jewelry, watches, handbags, clothing and shoes.
"The return will be carried out after prior identification by the owners or close family members of the deceased persons," the Kocani Internal Affairs Directorate stated.
The fire at the so-called "Pulse" cabaret in Kocani killed 63 people and injured more than 200.
35 individuals and three legal entities have been charged with the fire in Pulse. Among them are the owner of Pulse, his relatives, inspectors of state institutions, former ministers and members of the agency that provided security for the so-called cabaret and its owner.
At the beginning of the trial, all pleaded not guilty and disputed the defense's thesis that there was a causal, or cause-and-effect, relationship between their actions and the cause of the deadly fire.
The trial will be led by Judge Diana Gruevska-Ilievska, and the prosecution is represented by a team of 15 public prosecutors.
Testifying at the final hearing were Ana Kostadinovska, backing vocalist of the band DNK and full-time professor at the "Ilija Nikolovski-Luj" DMBUC in Skopje, and musician Goran Tonev, who performed with the band DNK as a guitarist.
Tonev said in his testimony that the fire started above the stage and spread extremely quickly, and the room was hot and there was thick smoke while the sponges from the ceiling were melting and black drops were falling from them.
Kostadinovska said that while they were performing the song "Whatever He Wills, Let It Be," the sprinklers turned on during the chorus.
"Nothing was unexpected because this song always gets people fired up. I felt warmth and instinctively looked up. Pancho called out for us to come out, but none of us took the situation seriously," she said.
