An explosion in a Covid hospital, at least 10 charred patients. It was a sad national holiday that was staged in North Macedonia which on 8 September 2021 celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of independence from the former Yugoslavia. A modular unit for Covid patients caught fire in the hospital complex of Tetovo, 43 kilometers from the capital Skopje, with 52,000 inhabitants, many of whom belong to the Albanian minority in the north-west of the country. “A huge tragedy has occurred,” said Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, 46.
“An explosion caused a fire: it was extinguished but many lives were lost.” He is echoed by the Minister of Health, Venko Filipce, according to which “so far ten people have been confirmed dead, but this number is destined to increase” The flames spread as the former Yugoslav Republic celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of its independence, with celebrations organized in Skopje, including a military parade and a concert by the National Philharmonic Orchestra. The causes of the explosion have not yet been ascertained.
Five prosecutors went to the scene to try to determine the causes of the tragedy. Firefighters were alerted around 9pm and reported having put out the fire in 45 minutes. “It was a huge fire and it spread also thanks to the large amount of plastic present in the hospital modules,” the deputy commander of the Tetovo fire brigade, Saso Trajcevski, told local television. Several wounded were transported to hospitals in the capital. The country, with two million inhabitants and a fragile health system, an average salary in the sector of 460 euros, has for some time recorded an increase in infections due to the Delta variant and the lifting of restrictions during the summer. In some centers, hospitals are now at the limit of capacity: the rate of vaccinations carried out is still low and health authorities record about 30 deaths a day related to the disease, which has so far claimed more than 6,100 victims in the country.