Fire in Finland

Five dead in suspected arson in Finland

Five people are dead after a fire in a six-story building in Vantaa, north of Helsinki. The alarm came in during the night and images show extensive damage to the building.

The fire is suspected to have been started, the incident is being investigated as arson and one person has been arrested, Finnish media report.

The police have called a press conference at 11:30 today, Swedish time.

Somali family died in the fire – 70-year-old neighbor arrested

A man in his 70s has been arrested on suspicion of starting the fire that killed five people in the apartment building in Vantaa, north of Helsinki, last night. The man lives in the same building and reported himself to the police at the scene, the Finnish police announced at a press conference.

The fire is said to have been started in the man's own apartment. He is suspected of murder and sabotage and will be questioned later today.

According to HBL and Helsingin Sanomat, the victims are a Somali family. Two adults and three children died – three, six and eight years old. A baby from the same family, who is only a few days old, survived and is now being treated in hospital.

The motive was not racist, the police said at the press conference. The family that died in the fire is not believed to have been the suspect's actual target.

According to police inspector Mikael Backlund, all the victims were found in the stairwell.

– It can be assumed that they would have survived if they had stayed in the apartment, he said according to Iltalehti.