13 killed in bar fire in France

A fire sparked by birthday cake candles tore through a bar in northern France early Saturday, killing at least 13 people in the nation’s deadliest blaze in over a decade, investigators said.

Through the shattered front windows of the Au Cuba Libre bar in Rouen melted stools and scorched liquor bottles were visible, as tearful mourners hugged each other and brought flowers to the scene.

The dead were between aged between 16 and 25, and one person among the six injured was fighting for their life. Authorities said the bar had been crowded with young partygoers.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls expressed “deep sadness at the tragedy that claimed 13 young lives”.

Local deputy prosecutor Laurent Labadie said the blaze, which began around midnight (2200 GMT on Friday) in the bar’s basement, was triggered accidentally.

“Someone came down with a birthday cake with candles and fell down the stairs,” Mr Labadie said, citing initial investigation findings.

“The candles were thrown onto the walls and ceiling, where there was soundproofing material. There was an immediate conflagration and gas was released,” he said.

The police said earlier in the day that the flames had ignited polystyrene on the ceiling of the basement room, releasing a toxic mix of gasses that poisoned the victims.

Witness Stephanie (36) described the terrifying moment the fire took hold. “I was at the bar on the ground floor having a drink, when we saw the flames — it was like a flame-thrower, everything happened so fast,” she told reporters.

One of the injured was in a critical condition, the secretary-general of the Seine-Maritime prefecture Yvan Cordier said.

The investigation will focus on whether building safety rules were resp-ected at the bar, particularly in relation to fire exits and flammable materials.

The blaze in Rouen was France’s deadliest since September 2005 when an apartment building fire in the Paris suburb of L’Hayles-Roses killed 18 people.