fireworks to blame for at least eight other nightclub fires, including in North Macedonia
January 2022: A nightclub in Sorong, Indonesia’s West Papua province, burned down as a result of two groups attacking each other inside the building. Nineteen people were killed.
January 2022: 17 people lost their lives in the fire that broke out at Liv’s Nightclub Yaouba in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon. The government claimed that fireworks ignited the roof and the fire then spread to areas where cooking gas was stored.
In December 2016, a fire broke out at a warehouse dance party in Oakland, California.Credit: access point
December 2016: 36 people lost their lives in a fire that broke out in a warehouse called the “Ghost Ship”, which was converted into a residence and event space for artists in Oakland, California. The fire, which broke out during an electronic music and dance party, grew so quickly that the victims were trapped on the illegally built second floor.
October 2015: 64 people died and 190 people were injured in a fire that broke out during a fireworks show by a rock band at the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest, the capital of Romania.
January 2013: More than 200 people died in the fire that broke out at the Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria, southern Brazil. Investigators said soundproofing foam in the ceiling caught fire and released toxic gases, quickly killing college partygoers.
December 2009: 152 people died in the fire that broke out at the Lame Horse nightclub in Perm, Russia. It all started when an indoor fireworks display ignited a plastic ceiling decorated with branches.
Rescuers retrieve the body of a victim outside a nightclub in Perm, Russia, in December 2009.Credit: AP/RTR Russian Channel
January 2009: 67 people died and many were injured in a fire that broke out at the indoor fireworks show held after the New Year’s countdown at the Santika club in Bangkok, Thailand. Victims died from burns, smoke inhalation and being crushed.
September 2008: 44 people died in a fire that broke out in a stampede at the crowded King of Dancers nightclub in Shenzhen, China, after the fireworks display on the ceiling.
December 2004: In Buenos Aires, Argentina, 194 people died in a fire that broke out when ceiling foam caught fire in the crowded Cromagnon Republic club. Club owner Omar Chaban was sentenced to 20 years in prison for causing the fatal fire and bribery. Others received lighter sentences.
February 2003: 100 people died and more than 200 people were injured in the fire that broke out at the Station nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island, USA. The fireworks used by the group set fire to flammable foam inside the club.
Footage from WPRI-TV television shows a pyrotechnic display that sparked a deadly fire at The Station nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island, in February 2003.Credit: WPRI-TV
January 2001: 14 people died and more than 200 people were injured in a fire that broke out in a cafe where people celebrating the New Year were in Volendam, the Netherlands.
December 2000: 309 people died in a fire that broke out due to a welding accident at a disco in the central Chinese city of Luoyang.
October 1998: An arson attack on an overcrowded youth disco in Gothenburg, Sweden, killed 63 people and injured nearly 200. The four people who started the fire were later found guilty.
March 1996: 162 people died in the fire that broke out at Ozone Disco Pub in Quezon City, Philippines. Most of the victims were students partying to celebrate the end of the academic year.
March 1990: 87 people lost their lives in the arson attack on Happy Land nightclub in New York’s Bronx district. The incident started when a man, angry at his girlfriend, threw gasoline at the club’s only exit and set it on fire, then closed the metal front door, trapping people.
December 1983: 78 people died and more than 20 people were injured in the fire that broke out at the Alcala dance hall in Madrid, Spain.
May 1977: 165 people died and more than 200 were injured in a fire at the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Kentucky.
November 1942: The deadliest nightclub fire in United States history killed 492 people at the Cocoanut Grove club in Boston. A fire at one of Boston’s premier nightspots has led to new requirements for sprinkler systems and accessible exits.
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April 1940: 209 people died when a fire broke out in decorative Spanish moss covering the ceiling of the Rhythm Night Club in Natchez, Mississippi. The windows were boarded up to prevent people from getting in.
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