Five teenage girls died after fire in 'escape room' in Poland

Five teenage girls have died after a fire broke out while they were playing an escape room game in northern Poland.

The teenage victims are thought to have been celebrating a birthday at the venue, where users are locked in a room and must answer puzzles and complete tasks to get out, in the city of Koszalin.

Investigators in Poland say they believe a fire at an escape room in which five girls died was caused by a gas leak in a heating system.

Koszalin prosecutor Ryszard Gasiorowski said a leak in the bottled gas heating system was a probable cause of the fire.

Earlier, firefighters blamed faulty electric wiring and poor emergency procedures.

Poland's firefighting chief, Leszek Suski, said electrical wiring at the location was makeshift and too close to flammable materials. He also said the man in charge of the venue might not have been there when the fire broke out.

"Security was not ensured and that led to the tragedy," Suski said.

He added that there was a "lot of negligence" at the location and no proper evacuation route.

Asphyxiation was the probable cause of the deaths, officials have said.

Police spokesperson Monika Kosiec said the girls' bodies were found after firefighters put out a blaze in a room near the fire, but that they were not directly hit by it.