‘House of Terror’ claims lives of two young women in escape room fire

Authorities in the Russian Republic of Dagestan say a blaze broke out in a basement where the event was being held; the girls succumbed to their burns later

Two young women have lost their lives and a man has sustained severe burns after a fire broke out during an escape room event in Russia’s southern Republic of Dagestan, local authorities have reported.

The local branch of the country’s Investigative Committee has launched a criminal probe into the deadly incident, and is checking whether all the required security precautions had been observed by the organizer. 

According to local officials, the tragedy struck at around 2am on Monday in the republic’s capital, Makhachkala. During the course of the quest, which was being held in a basement dubbed the ‘House of Terror,’ one of the staff set fire to a container full of gasoline.   

In a post on its Telegram channel on Monday, the Committee wrote that an 18-year-old entertainer who was in charge of the event has been detained. The suspect told interrogators that he set fire to a glove, which was apparently part of the game attire. He then threw it toward a vessel containing gasoline that was standing on the floor. The entertainer told officials that he had “gone overboard with” the fuel during the course of the game.  

According to Mash media outlet, as the flames engulfed the room, the trapped people tried to break a window and were screaming for help. A crowd of passersby soon amassed near the entrance to the fateful basement and tried force the door open, but to no avail, the report says. The people eventually managed to pry open the grille covering the window.   

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Police officers who were patrolling the area noticed the commotion, and came to the rescue. They had gas masks on hand, and were able to enter the smoke-filled room and pull the victims out, Mash claims.   

However, the two women had by then already suffered grievous burns, and perished soon thereafter.  

Russian media quoted the head of the burn department at the local hospital, Magomed Akhmedov, as saying that one of the victims “passed away immediately [on arrival], and the other in the morning.”  

Dagestan’s Health Ministry revealed that the women’s injuries were so severe that there was virtually no chance of survival despite the doctors’ best efforts.  

According to REN-TV channel, one of the victims was 19 years old and the other 25.  

Makhachkala Mayor Yusup Umavov has extended his condolences to the bereaved families.