Kočani nightclub trial: Experts testify Pulse venue operated illegally

During the court proceedings in Idrizovo regarding the fatal fire at the Pulse nightclub in Kočani, which resulted in 63 deaths and over 200 injuries, expert witness Dushica Tërpçevska Angellkoviq testified that the venue was operating illegally.

According to urban planning documentation from 1998 and 2013, the site was designated for light industry and small businesses. The expert stated that the conversion of the industrial facility into a nightclub/cabaret was not permitted under the Law on Construction or the Detailed Urban Plan.

Specifically, the complex consisted of two buildings: one built in 1998 as a commercial production facility, and a second building that was constructed without approval and later legalized in 2011 for light industry. The expert noted that the legal path for operating a nightclub would have required a formal change to the urban plan to include compatible designations, such as B3 for large hotel facilities, which the site lacked.