Dutch cafe blaze death toll rises

VOLENDAM, Netherlands -- A 13-year-old girl was among the 10 victims of a blaze that swept through a Dutch cafe packed with New Year revellers, the mayor has said.

More than 180 people were injured when the harbourside cafe Het Hemeltje went up in flames just half an hour after 2001 began. Ninety are still being treated at burns centres across the Netherlands, and in Belgium and Germany.

Liesbeth Buijs, 13, died on Monday evening, he said. She was the youngest of the victims, all of them local residents in their teens or early twenties.

"I regret to inform you that another name must be added to the list of the dead," said Frank Ijsselmuiden, mayor of Volendam, a fishing village about 15 km (10 miles) north of Amsterdam.

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A 10th victim died at a burn wound centre on Tuesday afternoon, health officials said.

The names of the dead were published in the churches of the Roman Catholic fishing village, where everyone knew someone at the crowded party in a three-story wooden house.

Queen Beatrix planned to visit victims in Amsterdam's AMC hospital with Vice Prime Minister Annemarie Jorritsma ahead of an evening memorial service in Volendam.

The churches held special services and youth centres opened their doors to give survivors a place to meet and share their grief.

The fire, which officials called short but intense, started at 12.30 a.m. on Monday (2330 GMT Sunday) in the busy cafe on the third storey of a traditional timbered building.

Some of the injured suffered burns and lung damage from inhaling smoke. Others were hurt when they smashed windows and leaped into the dark to flee the flames.

Survivors said some cafe-goers had lit sparklers, which ignited ceiling decorations and brought them tumbling onto the mainly teenage revellers, many wearing flammable synthetic clothing, according to a spokeswoman for Volendam council.

"People are saying sparklers were lit...but it's not clear whether that was actually the cause of the fire. That's being investigated," she said.

Volendam fire chief Jan Schouten said temperatures on the cafe's ceiling reached 800 to 1,000 degrees Celsius. The decorations stuck to the ceiling were mostly Christmas tree branches, he said.

Theo Bot, chief public prosecutor for the region, said it should be known within days whether the cafe had complied with safety regulations. Media have speculated that some fire exits in the cafe were blocked. Bot said only one emergency exit was used.

The tragedy has stunned the picturesque town. Wim Keizer, a teacher and city councilman who knew many of the youngsters, said: "The shock in Volendam is boundless. It's unimaginable -- 18,000 people are suffering."

The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.

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Five killed in Dutch cafe fire
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The Netherlands broadcasting organisations
Volendam, Netherlands

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