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Gas leak blamed in Polish escape room fire

A gas leak in a heating system at an Escape Room has been blamed for a fire that killed five teenage girls and injured a man in Poland.

The bodies of the 15-year-old victims were found on Friday in Koszalin, northern Poland, after firefighters extinguished a blaze in an adjacent room.

Prosecutors said carbon monoxide inhalation was the likely cause of the deaths.

A 26-year-old man employed at the location was hospitalised with burns.

Koszalin prosecutor Ryszard Gasiorowski said a leak in the bottled gas heating system probably caused the fire.

Earlier, firefighters blamed faulty electric wiring and substandard security procedures.

Gasiorowski said the fire probably broke out in the reception room and blocked the employee's way to evacuate the girls.

Autopsies will be carried out to confirm the cause of their deaths.

The Escape Room game sees players locked inside a room or building and they must find clues that help them get out.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has sent condolences to the victims' relatives.

The school that the teenagers attended was extending counselling and support to their friends and colleagues.

The girls, friends from one school class, were celebrating one of their birthdays.