5 of same family killed in suspected arson in Vantaa, 1 held

Five people of a same family were burnt to death in a fire at a residential building in Vantaa early Tuesday morning, police said.

Police suspected that the fire was set deliberately and arrested one person in connection with the suspected crime.

The fire broke out in the house at Pähkinärintentie area at about 5:40 a.m. and engulfed it immediately and the blaze destroyed one of the flats on the second floor severely resulting deaths of five residents.

Responding to an alarm, rescue service personnel and police rushed to the spot and brought the fire under control. They recovered bodies from the debris.

The victims were a couple aged between 30 and 40 and their three children aged 3, 6 and 8, police said, adding that an infant of the family sustained burn wounds and was taken to hospital.

Police, however, did not divulge the detail identities of the deceased and the suspect but said that the suspect is a 70-year-old man who lived in the building.

Local media reported that the deceased were members of a family with Somali background while the suspect is a native Finnish man.

The fire started in the own apartment of the suspect, media reported, quoting police.

News agency Xinhua adds: the suspected act was not specifically directed at the family and said there was no racist motive, police said at a press conference after the incident.

Fire chief Markus Kuosmanen said none of the fire officers at the scene had encountered anything similar in a long time. Rescuers entered the building by breaking windows, he said.

All residents of the building were evacuated. Rescue services said residents who stayed inside their apartments survived, while the deceased family was found in a smoke-filled stairwell after apparently attempting to escape.

Police are investigating into the incident to get more information in this regard.