Professional soccer player Andrej Lazarov was among the victims of the North Macedonia nightclub fire, according to his team.
In a message posted on Facebook on Sunday, March 16, the FC Shkupi club of the Macedonian First Football League shared “with great pain and sorrow” that 25-year-old Lazarov was confirmed to be among the dead.
The soccer club wrote that Lazarov ultimately succumbed to smoke inhalation, and that he died attempting to save other nightclub goers. The team noted that he showed “courage and humanity until the very last moment,” adding, “His heroic act will always remain in our memories, as a testament to his noble character and his big heart.”
“This is a huge loss for our club, our teammates and the entire football community. Words are not enough to describe the pain we feel right now,” the statement concluded.
Lazarov had been with the team for six months, per the soccer club.
In a press conference shared by local outlet MIA News, North Macedonia’s Interior Minister, Panche Toshkovskithe, said the fire broke out at the Pulse club in the eastern town of Kočani in North Macedonia at around 3:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, March 16.
At least 59 people have died and more than 155 others were injured, per the BBC.
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The fire was caused by sparks from pyrotechnics used during a concert at the nightclub, where the local pop group ADN performed, the minister confirmed, per North Macedonian newspaper Večer and the Associated Press.
This incident is one of the worst in recent years for the country.
Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski shared a statement about the tragedy on Instagram, writing, “This is a difficult and very sad day for Macedonia.”
He added, “The government is fully mobilized and will do everything necessary to deal with the consequences and determine the causes of this tragedy.”
Marta Kos, the European Commissioner for Enlargement, wrote on X that she is “deeply saddened by the tragic fire in Kočani North Macedonia, which claimed the lives of too many young people. My thoughts are with the victims, their loved ones and the whole of North Macedonia.”
PEOPLE has reached out to the North Macedonia Police for comment.
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