Macedonian institutions and the Macedonian healthcare system dealt more than adequately with the tragedy in Kochani. This was the conclusion of the first panel “European Civil Protection Mechanism and the International Response: Coordination, Solidarity and Experiences” within the framework of the “International Conference on Institutional and Clinical Aspects and Solutions after the Kochani Fire”, held Saturday in Skopje.
“Unfortunately, a few months after the exercise, which was a simulation, a real tragedy occurred on March 16. I truly believe that hardly any country can respond to such a tragedy as efficiently, quickly and appropriately as possible. It was a terrible tragedy and I hope that something similar will never happen to us again,” said Macedonian Minister of Interior Panche Toshkovski.
On the day of the tragedy, but also in the days after, Toshkovski stressed, the Ministry engaged about 3,000 police officers, who, in addition to securing the scene of the incident, conducted an inspection, undertook all criminal-operational activities related to the criminal-legal event and were involved in all subsequent actions related to saving lives, transporting patients, etc.
