aJournalists gather in front of the fire-damaged Au Cuba Libre bar in Rouen, northern France.
Rouen, France – A fire apparently 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 a decade.
Through the shattered front windows of the bar in Rouen melted stools and scorched liquor bottles were visible, as tearful mourners hugged each other and brought flowers to the scene of the tragedy.
Most of the dead were between 18-25 years old, with one person among the six injured in critical condition. Authorities said the bar was crowded with young partygoers.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls expressed “deep sadness at the tragedy that claimed 13 young lives.”
Local prosecutors described the blaze as accidental, but an investigation is underway to pinpoint the cause of the flames.
“There wasn’t an explosion, it was candles used for a birthday party,” a senior police official told AFP.
The flames ignited the polystyrene insulation foam of the basement room’s ceiling where the celebrations were taking place, producing a toxic mix of gases that poisoned the victims, police said.
The blaze started at around midnight at the Au Cuba Libre bar in the city center, and the firemen were at the scene by 12:20 am.
“A fire broke out in a bar in the city center 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.
The blaze in Rouen was France’s deadliest since September 2005 when an apartment building fire in the Paris suburb of L’Hay-les-Roses killed 18 people.
Jittery France is on edge after a series of recent attacks by Islamic State-affiliated jihadists, including the killing of a priest in nearby Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray.