A fire that broke out at an “escape room” game in northern Poland, killed five teenage girls and injured a man, the authorities said on Saturday. Officials have extended psychological, psychiatric and other support to the families of the victims. The school that the teenagers had attended was extending counseling and support to their friends and colleagues.
In the game, which is popular with teenagers worldwide, players are locked inside a room or building and they must work together to find clues and solve puzzles to escape simulated danger before time runs out.
The industry behind escape rooms, which originated in Japan and evolved from video games, has grown rapidly around the world in recent years. Most of the sites in the United States are mom-and-pop operations with one or two sites.