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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World

Poland escape room fire: faulty wiring blamed for blaze that left five teenage girls dead

Faulty wiring has been identified by firefighters as the cause of a horror blaze at an escape room in Poland that left five teenage girls dead.

The victims, all 15, were found inside a room at he venue in Koszalin in northern Poland on Friday.

It is believed they were celebrating one of the girls' birthdays. One man, thought to be one of the girls' fathers, was seriously injured.

Polish firefighters have now said they believe poor electrical wiring and lax safety procedures were the cause of the blaze at the escape room.

A cordon was put in place at the scene

Asphyxiation has been deemed the probable cause of the deaths, officials said.

Poland's firefighting chief, Leszek Suski, said electrical wiring at the location was makeshift and too close to flammable materials.

A man was also injured in the incident

He added that the man in charge was probably not there when the fire broke out.

The Escape Room game sees players locked inside a room or building, which they must find get out of by finding clues.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has sent condolences to the victims' families.

In the aftermath, country's interior minister Joachim Brudzinski ordered fire safety controls in all Escape Rooms, which are very popular with teenagers across Poland.

President Andrzej Duda said on Twitter it was a "crushing tragedy" that five young girls died so early in their lives, while Koszalin mayor Piotr Jedlinski announced that Sunday would be a day of mourning in the city.

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