Five Teenage Girls Have Died In An 'Escape Room' Fire In Poland

Five teenage girls, who were celebrating a 15th birthday, have died after a fire broke out at an escape room venue, in Poland yesterday.

The blaze started while the teens were visiting the attraction in the city of Koszalin, killing all five girls and seriously injuring a 25-year-old man.

The youngsters perished in the fire that is believed to have started around 5pm local time (4pm GMT), on Friday afternoon.

The condition of the injured man is currently unknown.

Authorities have not yet said what may have caused the fire, but following the tragic incident health and safety checks are being carried out on every escape room in the country.

Interior Minister Joachim Brudzinski told broadcaster TVN24: "The victims of this tragedy are 15-year-old children, girls celebrating a birthday."

Brudziński then shared his condolences in a tweet, he said: "I want to express my sympathy and regrets to the families of the victims of the fire."

PA

This was followed by a statement from a fire spokesman, Tomasz Kubiak, who confirmed the deaths of the five teens and told AFP: "One man with severe burns was taken to an intensive care unit."

He also said that the bodies of the youngster were found in a room near the fire.

Al Jazeera has reported the Polish state news agency, PAP, said it had learned unofficially the girls died from carbon monoxide asphyxiation.

The Polish President Andrzej Duda called the horrific incident a 'tragedy' as he tweeted out his condolences.

He wrote: "A devastating tragedy in Koszalin. The five joyful girls entering the life have been torn out of life. May God take care of their parents and loved ones. RIP"

TVN24

In a follow-up tweet he demanded that the cause of the fire 'must be fully explained'.

"The deepest sympathy for the families of all the victims of the great tragedy in Koszalin, where five young girls lost their lives.

"The causes of the tragedy must be fully explained. At the moment our thoughts are with their loved ones," he said.

Koszalin Mayor Piotr Jedlinski said in a statement the city would enter a day of mourning, on Sunday, for the loss of the girls.

Escape room experiences have grown in popularity over the past few years, with more than 1,000 springing up in the UK since 2013 when there were just seven.

Topics: World News, UK News, Interesting

Rachael Grealish

Rachael is a NCTJ qualified journalist from West Cumbria, with a passion for news, features and journalism. Outside of work Rachael loves plenty of coffee, running and reading.

@RachaelGrealish