Rouen: fire caused by a fall with a birthday cake 13 dead – Express

The birthday party ended in tragedy. A fire of accidental origin probably left 13 dead and six wounded in the night from Friday to Saturday, at a birthday celebrated in a bar in the center of Rouen.

“The firemen were contacted at 0:20 to intervene in the bar Cuba Libre, avenue Jacques Cartier. They arrived quickly,” reported Yvan Cordier, secretary general of the prefecture of Seine-Maritime. “Among the six injured, one person is absolutely urgent,” he said. The others were slightly injured, according to a report given Saturday morning by the CODIS (departmental operational center of fire and rescue). The victims hospitalized at the University Hospital of Rouen, are mainly young people aged 16 to 25 years, says a source close to the dossier.

According to West France is a police aged 20 who was celebrating his birthday in the bar at the time of the tragedy. She works as a peacekeeper in the town of Mont Saint Aignan, also provides regional daily.

The polystyrene ceiling ignited

Questioned by AFP, the Rouen police station said that “it is the used candles for birthday party that ignited the ceiling made of polystyrene, releasing gas that poisoned the victims. ” They were in a room located in the basement. An explosion was first raised.

“There were flames of two meters that came out close to the door,” said Bruno, a neighbor at RTL. “The owner of the bar broke the tiles to try to clear the smoke but it happened in a split second. I’ve seen people get burned hands on all fours,” added the frequent visitor.

An investigation

According to the regional newspaper Paris-Normandie , Lawrence Labadie, deputy prosecutor to the prosecutor of Rouen “insists on an accidental fire. ” A “judicial inquiry is underway to determine the cause of the fire,” said the Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said in a statement. For his part, Prime Minister shared his “compassion” to the families in a tweet posted Saturday morning. The Socialist Mayor of Rouen Yvon Robert, arrived on the scene shortly before 2am, lamented “the greatest catastrophe” that affected his city.

A medical and psychological support unit was opened at the University Hospital Charles Nicolle in Rouen.

In a statement, Bernard Cazeneuve welcomed “the overwhelming response and the actions of police and firefighters of the Departmental Fire and Seine-Maritime Rescue which helped quickly control the fire. the victims were immediately taken over by the ambulance. ”