Residents in Poland's northern town of Koszalin came together on Sunday to hold a vigil for five teenage girls who died in an 'escape room' fire.
United in grief, residents turned out in force to attend a mass followed by a public prayer on the Old Town's main square to remember the teenagers and show support to their families.
The girls were celebrating a birthday at an escape room on Friday (January 4) when the fire broke out. The venue's owner was arrested on Sunday, Polish media reported.
Poland's Interior Minister Joachim Brudzinski said on Sunday that Poland would impose harsh fines and sanctions on business owners whose premises do not comply with health and safety standards.
Speaking at a press conference in Warsaw, Brudzinski urged parents to report potential safety violations at escape rooms or other children's entertainment centres.
Speaking alongside Brudzinski, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said he had ordered a report on the around 1,100 escape rooms or similar locations across Poland and the government would determine if changes to safety regulations were needed.
Authorities carried out inspections of at least 178 escape room locations across Poland at the weekend and found 129 did not meet health and safety standards, said the head of state fire services Leszek Suski. Thirteen locations were ordered closed.
In escape rooms, participants are locked in and race against the clock to solve puzzles and challenges to open a way out.
Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 News in English, Reuters
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: tvn24