Fatal Swiss house fire checked for arson

BERLIN — Swiss police say a father and his two young children have died in a house fire and they are investigating whether the man set the fire deliberately.

The fire broke out Sunday morning in a six-story building in the southeastern city of Chur. Rescuers found three bodies in one apartment.

Police in Graubuenden canton said the victims are believed to be a 33-year-old man from the Dominican Republic, his 8-year-old daughter and his 3-year-old son.

They said a fire accelerant caused at least one explosion, and investigators are focusing on a suspected role the father might have had in the blaze.

Six residents and two firefighters were taken to a hospital after inhaling smoke from the fire, and 48 people were evacuated from the building.

AP/DMITRI LOVETSKY A woman wearing a Snow Maiden costume rides a bike Sunday during a celebration of Old New Year at the Palace Square in St. Petersburg, Russia. Many people in Russia observe the occasion, which marks the changing of the year under the Julian calendar.