A fire during a
birthday party at a bar in the northern French city of Rouen has killed at
least 13 people and injured six.
Candles on a
birthday cake started the fire at the Cuba Libre bar, which began around
midnight on Saturday.
The polystyrene
ceiling of the basement room where the celebration was taking place caught
fire, according to AFP.
Interior Minister
Bernard Cazeneuve said more than 50 firefighters were called to the fire.
An inquiry is now
under way, he said.
One of the injured
people is in a serious condition.
Terrorism has been
ruled out
The victims were
mostly young people aged between 18 and 25, the Paris-Normandie news website
reports (in French).
An official told AFP
that the polystyrene ceiling tiles released a gas which poisoned the victims:
"The group was unable to leave the basement and most of the victims died
of asphyxiation."
Prime Minister
Manuel Valls said in a tweet (in French): "Deep sadness with regard to the
tragedy which mowed down 13 young lives. Compassion and support for the
afflicted families."
The authorities
praised firefighters for the speed of their response.
The fire is the deadliest to hit France since a series of blazes in 2005, according to French media.
The country has been
on edge after the Nice attack on Bastille Day (14 July), which killed 85
people, and the stabbing of a priest in a church outside Rouen by Islamist
extremists on 26 July.
While the exact
cause of the fire in Rouen remains to be determined, polystyrene or other
insulation materials have been blamed for previous deadly blazes, including a
nightclub fire in Bucharest last year which killed 27, and a fire in a club in
Brazil in 2013 which killed 241.
Most of the victims
in that blaze, in the city of Santa Maria, died after inhaling toxic smoke
produced when ceiling insulation foam caught fire.
From BBC News
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