International News

RENENS, Switzerland, (APP/AFP) – At least 13 people were killed
and six injured in a fire early Saturday during a birthday party at a bar
in the northern French city of Rouen, officials said.
The blaze was sparked by the candles of a birthday cake, which
ignited the polystyrene ceiling of the basement room where the celebrations were taking place.
The victims were poisoned by a toxic mix of gases released by the
burning plastic, a senior police official told AFP.
“There wasn’t an explosion, it was candles used for a birthday
party,” he said.
The blaze started at around midnight at the Cuba Libre bar in the
city centre, and the firemen were at the scene by 00:20 am (2220 GMT Friday).
“A fire broke out in a bar in the city centre of Rouen this evening,
according to an initial investigation, 13 are dead and six are injured, and
more than 50 firemen attended the scene,” Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said in a statement.
One of the injured was in a critical condition, the secretary general
of the Seine-Maritime prefecture Yvan Cordier told AFP.
Local official Laurent Labadie who was at the scene of the fire
described the blaze as accidental.