Flat fire kills 5 in southwest France

PARIS - Five people, including a two-year child, were found dead on Tuesday after a fire burnt their home in Pau, southwest France, following an apparent family dispute, local media reported.

Citing sources close to the investigation, BFMTV news channel said the fire broke out at a flat in first floor of four-storey building early Tuesday.

"There were two couples in the apartment. Someone would have set a sofa on fire, and neighbors seeing smoke this morning alerted firefighters," Jean-Paul Brin, first deputy mayor of Pau was quoted as saying.

"It was probably a family dispute that turned to massacre. No one knows anything more," he added.

According to the report, traces of blood were discovered around the apartment where a person was found tied up.

An inquiry was underway to identify the victims and the causes of the incident.