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At least 13 killed, 6 injured in bar fire in France’s Rouen

The fire broke out in Le Cuba Libre bar at around midnight local time when young people aged between 18 and 25 were attending a birthday party

© EPA/YOAN VALAT

PARIS, August 6. /TASS/. At least 13 people died and six others were injured during the fire in a bar in Rouen in western France, the country’s Interior Ministry said on Saturday, adding one of the injured "remains in poor condition."

The fire broke out in Le Cuba Libre bar at around midnight local time when young people aged between 18 and 25 were attending a birthday party. The event was organized in a basement room.

Rouen’s police say the fire could begin from the big cake, which was decorated with candles. As a waiter carried the cake to the room, he slipped, the cake fell down, and the burning candles got scattered on the floor.

The synthetic carpet caught the fire in an instant, and then the fire developed to the plastic ceiling. Not many could escape the basement room - some got suffocated in the smoke and others died of burns.

50 firefighters came to the site quickly enough to stop development of the fire - the bar was next to the famous Rouen Cathedral. Rouen’s central part consists mostly of old wooden buildings.

France’s Interior Minister Bernard Cazenouve said investigation was under way. The blaze could occur due to accidental reasons, the city’s prosecution said.

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