The victims of the fire disaster in an "escape room" in Poland had, according to the prosecutor, no chance to escape the flames.
The door handle on the inside of the room had been removed and hidden, Koszalin prosecutor spokesman Ryszard Gasiorowski said this Wednesday. Finding them was therefore part of the "escape game", where participants have to solve tasks under time pressure to free themselves from an enclosed space. For five 15-year-old girls in Koszalin, northern Poland, the game became a deadly trap when a fire broke out last Friday.
The teenagers celebrating a birthday did not have a chance to free themselves from the enclosed space, Gasiorowski said. Even from the outside, the flames prevented their rescue. The fire cut off the way to the girls for an employee of the "escape room". The 25-year-old Pole, who was burned himself, ran to the streets to seek help. For the girls, who died according to preliminary findings of a smoke poisoning, she came too late. They will be buried on Thursday.
"There was no other escape route than the door," said Gasiorowski. The windows were locked according to the information with Rigips. The 28-year-old owner of the "Escape Space" is in custody, threatened with up to eight years imprisonment for security breaches and negligent homicide.
Video: Five teenagers died in Poland
MARCIN BIELECKI / EPA-EFE / REX
The man was traumatized after the events, reported Polish media. He expressed his condolences to the families of the victims, he did not want to comment on the allegations in court. Reason is his poor mental health, as his defender told TVN24.
Many people of the approximately 100,000 inhabitants Koszalin are shaken by the tragedy. The classmates of the adolescents are psychologically looked after, according to the school.