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8 Die, 200 Hurt in Netherlands Fire
In a popular discotheque of Volendam,a harbor town, about 13 miles northeast of Amsterdam, Monday fire killed eight young people and injured 200, who trampled each other as they tried to escape.
Investigators sought to explain the cause of the fire, which began on the third floor just after midnight and spread to two adjoining night clubs filled with several hundred teen-agers celebrating the new year.
Billowing smoke and flames fueled panic among the estimated 700 revelers, who fled as flaming Christmas decorations fell from the ceiling. Witnesses told of screams and breaking glass as people jumped from windows.
Scores suffered burn wounds, smoke inhalation and cuts, while others were trampled underfoot by fleeing partygoers.
``It was like warfare, people screaming and trampling over each other to get out,'' said Henk Jong, who ran out of a bar around the corner to help a woman with bloodied hands who was looking for her children.
``My daughter was knocked to the ground and people piled up on top of her,'' said a woman who asked not to be named. ``She was sure she was going to die and had taken her last breath.'' But the girl got out nearly unharmed, the woman said.
Firefighters quickly stifled the blaze and began administering first aid. With 90 people still hospitalized, health officials warned that the death toll could climb as high as 20.
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