Eight young people died and around 130 were injured in an overnight fire at a cafe packed with New Year revellers in the small Dutch fishing town of Volendam, 10 miles north of Amsterdam.
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The seven men and one woman who died were aged between 16 and 22, hospital sources said. The death toll is expected to rise as another nine people fought for their lives.
Thirty people were in critical condition with third degree burns all over their bodies and lung damage, officials said.
Some of the injured had been transferred to Belgium and Germany as the Netherlands did not have sufficient medical facilities to cope with so many severe burns cases.
Many were injured when they leaped from windows in desperation to the street below to escape flames and suffocating smoke at the "Little Heaven," a popular nightspot in the tourist resort town.
It was believed Christmas decorations had caught fire, quickly engulfing the crowded room.
AFP