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_On Monday, March 17, 2025, Belgium sent a B-FAST reconnaissance team to North Macedonia. This in response to a specific request for help from the North Macedonian government after heavy fire broke out in a nightclub in Kocani in which 59 people died and more than 150 people were injured. Based on an evaluation of the needs by the reconnaissance team, it was decided to transfer 4 patients to Belgium for care._
The B-FAST reconnaissance team is composed of specialized staff of Defense, the FPS Public Health and the FPS Foreign Affairs. Together with the North Macedonian Ministry of Health, in charge of local coordination, the B-FAST reconnaissance team has made an evaluation of the help that is currently needed. This in close contact with the European aid coordination mechanism.
Based on this evaluation, it was decided to transfer 4 patients to Belgium for the care of burn wounds. They are currently on the way to Belgium. Everything is being prepared to receive these patients in certain specialized hospitals.
_“In the face of this devastating tragedy, Belgium expresses its full solidarity with the Macedonian people and all the families affected. Our thoughts are with the victims, the injured and all those who have lost loved ones”,_ says Maxime Prévot, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Development Cooperation.
_“We are mobilising our resources to offer specialised care to patients transferred to Belgium. Our hospitals and medical teams are ready to welcome them and provide them with the best possible treatment. This concrete support illustrates our unwavering commitment to international cooperation and mutual aid in times of crisis._
_In these difficult times, the friendship between our nations takes on its full meaning. Together, we will overcome this challenge.”_
B-FAST is the structure of the federal government that is activated when providing emergency aid abroad and consists of the FPS Home Affairs, the FPS Policy and Support (BOSA), the FPS Public Health, the Ministry of Defence and the FPS Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, in which the Prime Minister's Office is also involved.