Flambe pizza fire kills two and injures 12 in Madrid restaurant
- One of the dead was a restaurant employee and the other a customer, Madrid’s mayor said. 12 others were treated for burns and smoke injuries
- Witnesses said the fire started after a waiter poured alcohol over the pizza dish and set it alight, a French technique known as flambe
Two people died and 12 were injured in a fire apparently sparked when a waiter served a flambe pizza at a Madrid restaurant, accidentally setting decorations ablaze, authorities said on Saturday.
Two people treated by emergency services subsequently died, one of them a restaurant employee, the other a customer, city mayor Jose Luis Martinez Almeida said.
One person is in a critical condition in hospital and five others are seriously hurt, Martinez Almeida told journalists outside the charred restaurant.
He said the fire appeared to have been sparked when a waiter flambeed a pizza and the flames caught plastic flowers decorating the ceiling and columns of the establishment, which contained around 30 diners and staff members at the time.
Witnesses told the El País daily newspaper the waiter poured alcohol over the dish and set it alight, a French technique known as flambe. This is often done tableside to dramatic effect and to give the dish a smoky flavour.