Dozens of people were killed when a fire ripped through an illegal nightclub in North Macedonia's southern city of Kocani, prompting a bribery and corruption investigation that has led to the arrests of several local officials who allegedly allowed the club to remain open, authorities said Sunday.

A devastating nightclub fire in North Macedonia has been declared one of the country’s worst tragedies in recent memory as over 50 people have died and more than 100 people have been injured. The Pulse nightclub was engulfed with flames at 2:35am on Sunday morning in Kočani, around 100km east from the capital city of Skopje.