Officials in North Macedonia are investigating a fire that tore through a nightclub killing 59 people and injuring more than 150, with many crushed in the rush to escape flames suspected to have been sparked by on-stage pyrotechnics.

The blaze broke out around 2:35 a.m. during a concert by a local pop group at the Pulse nightclub, Interior Minister Panche Toshkovski told reporters.

Sporadic violence broke out in North Macedonia on Monday as thousands of people demanded justice for 59 people killed in a nightclub blaze and called for an end to the corruption that they say was behind the country's worst disaster in years.