HELSINKI, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Five members of the same family died in a fierce apartment-building fire in the city of Vantaa, near the Finnish capital Helsinki, in the early hours of Tuesday, Finnish police said.
The victims were a couple aged between 30 and 40 and their three children aged 3, 6 and 8, police told a press conference on Tuesday afternoon. The family's baby was rescued and remains in hospital.
Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat reported that the deceased were members of a Somali family.
Police said a 70-year-old man who lived in the building is suspected of deliberately starting the fire and later turned himself in. He is being held on suspicion of murder and aggravated criminal damage, and police said additional charges could be brought as the investigation continues.
Police added that the suspected act was not specifically directed at the family and said there was no racist motive.
The fire broke out in the Pahkinarinne area of Vantaa's Hameenkyla district and was "exceptionally intense," rescue services said at the press conference.
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.
Police and rescue services received the alert at 5:41 a.m. local time, and the blaze was extinguished later in the morning. 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.
Local authorities and institutions arranged crisis support for affected residents and children, Helsingin Sanomat reported. ■