The huge blaze erupted Wednesday night—claiming lives of ten. Fire services and rescue teams rushed to the scene and fought to douse the flames for a couple of hours.

It’s not yet clear how the large blaze started or how many patients were inside.

While the cause has yet to be established, the country's Prime Minister Zoran Zaev posted on social media that the fire had followed an on-site explosion.

Огромна трагедија се случи во тетовскиот КОВИД-19 центар. Експлозија предизвикала пожар. Пожарот е изгаснат, но згаснаа и многу животи.

Изразувам најдлабоко сочувство до семејствата и блиските на починатите и посакувам брзо закрепнување на повредените.https://t.co/55sVhZEyXO

— Зоран Заев (@Zoran_Zaev) September 8, 2021

Footage shared on social media showed a building in flames and a thick cloud of black smoke billowing into the air near a main road in the city of Tetovo.

JUST IN - At least 15 people killed and dozens injured after a fire broke at a Covid hospital in North Macedoniapic.twitter.com/FC9lbBoDJJ

— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) September 8, 2021

The facility was reportedly built last year to help care for COVID-19 patients.

Tetovo deputy fire Chief, Saso Trajcevski said, "The fire was huge because the hospital is modular, there was plastic".

The fire occurred as the former Yugoslav republic celebrated the 30th anniversary of its independence, with festivities in the capital Skopje, including a military parade.

However, investigators have gone to the scene to determine the cause of Yesterday’s fire.

Meanwhile, North Macedonia has been battling a surge in COVID-19 cases recently with 701 new cases and 24 deaths in the past 24 hours.

It has recorded more than 6,100 fatalities in total since the start of the COVID outbreak.

Macedonia government had to impose stricter measures, in a bid to prevent the spread of virus.

North Macedonia has a population of around 2 million and its healthcare services are run down as hospitals are overwhelmed in some areas, particularly where vaccination rates are low.

Covid-19 hospitals in other countries have been hit by explosions followed by fires. In Iraq, dozens of people were killed in fires that occurred after oxygen cylinders exploded in April and July.

As per National Command and Control Center (NCOC), around 2,580 cases of coronavirus were reported while 78 people succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total death toll to 26,865.

Pakistan conducted a total of 47,419 tests in the last 24 hours.

As per the NCOC, total confirmed cases are 1,210,082 whereas 5,304 are under critical care.

Punjab            

The number of patients swelled to 415,654 in the province with 12,259 causalities.

Sindh

The number of infections has surged to 446,045 in the province, while the death toll has reached 7,177.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The confirmed cases have surged to 169,040 in the province with 5,290 casualties.

Balochistan

There are 32,618 confirmed cases while 344 patients have died from the infection so far.

AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan

There are 33,432 coronavirus cases in the AJK while the death toll has reached 724. On the other hand, there are 10,168 cases in GB with 182 coronavirus deaths.

Islamabad

There are 103,125 cases in the capital city while 889 people have lost their lives.

According to National Command and Operations Center (NCOC), around 3,613 cases of coronavirus were reported while 57 people succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total death toll to 26,232.

The total number of cases has reached 1,182,918.

As many as 1,064,319 patients have recovered from the disease with 5,606 critical cases.

Punjab                    

The number of patients swelled to 403,157 in the province with 12,066 causalities.

Sindh

The number of infections has surged to 438,327 in the province, while the death toll has reached 6,960.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The confirmed cases have surged to 165,200 in the province with 5,107 casualties.

Balochistan

There are 32,403 confirmed cases while 340 patients have died from the infection so far.

AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan

There are 32,824 coronavirus cases in the AJK while the death toll has reached 708. On the other hand, there are 10,051 cases in GB with 177 coronavirus deaths.

Islamabad

There are 100,956 cases in the capital city while 874 people have lost their lives.