11 dead after man allegedly set fire to a bar in Mexico after being kicked out
- A man has been arrested for allegedly throwing a Molotov cocktail at the Beer House Cantina bar in San Luis, Mexico after being released from prison. terrain
- Eleven people, including a 17-year-old and a female U.S. citizen, were killed in the blaze
- Several others are still in hospital, authorities said on Saturday
A man has been arrested on suspicion of deliberately starting a fire that killed 11 people in the Mexican state of Sonora near the Arizona border.
Mexican authorities said the suspect, whose name has not yet been released, was removed from the Beer House Cantina bar in San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico, in the early hours of Saturday for being disrespectful to female customers.
The unnamed man, who had “a high degree of intoxication,” returned and threw a “sort of “molotov” cocktail at the bar that caused the incident,” the Sonora attorney general’s office said.
The devastating fire broke out at 1:33 a.m. Saturday and had killed 11 people by nightfall.
Among the dead was a 17-year-old American woman.
A man kicked out of a Mexican bar then set it on fire, killing 11 people, according to investigators
The fire broke out at 1:33 a.m. Saturday, and police had an unnamed suspect in custody
The American teen’s name has not been released.
Footage from the scene showed the building being consumed by an out-of-control fire as firefighters fought to contain the carnage. The building is located in San Luis Rio Colorado, along the Mexican border with Arizona.
The prime suspect was being questioned, Gustavo Rómulo Salas Chávez, Attorney General of Sonora, said at a news conference Saturday.
Four of the 11 dead were women. A total of six people were injured in the fire.
Yuma Regional Medical Center in Arizona received three patients, one of which remains in the hospital and the other two were discharged.
Another three were sent to other US hospitals for treatment.
The medical center released a statement saying, “Our hearts go out to the victims and families affected by his tragedy.”
The Beer House Cantina bar in San Luis Rio Colorado was soon engulfed in flames. The bar is located along the border between Mexico and Arizona
The deadly fire, which authorities say was set deliberately, killed 11 people
Firefighters eventually extinguished the blaze that claimed 11 lives and injured six others
The father-in-law of one of the victims, Aurelio Herrera told KYMA: ‘They told us there was no emergency exit, only one door and it was blocked.
“Someone threw a Molotov bomb and the fire quickly went out.
“You have no idea, he was my son-in-law, of course I am very sad,” added Herrera.
The names of the other victims have not been released. The building suffered significant damage and was cordoned off with police tape on Saturday afternoon.