The Discotheque Fire at Herkulesgatan in Gothenburg, October 1998

A group of youngsters arranged a dance party including artist performances an evening in October 1998. For this purpose they temporarily hired the premises of the Macedonian Association at Herkulesgatan in Gothenburg. During the evening four young men started a fire in the stairwell which ordinarily functioned as the emergency exit. The fire developed unhindered and then spread rapidly into the dance hall. At this stage there were at least 375 youngsters in the dance hall. Of these 63 perished and many were seriously injured.